


in another universe

by incendio_scorpio



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:15:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 44,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incendio_scorpio/pseuds/incendio_scorpio
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

“I can’t do this!” a frustrated 12 year old lyra ripped off the mask that covered her eyes as the force trainer shot her in the shoulder, again. she swung her lightsaber and blocked a shot from the trainer once she could see.

“control your anger, lyra, focus on the present, on your feelings,” luke stood close by, his hands clasped behind his back as he watched his young padawan train.

“it’s one thing to say that, master luke, it’s a whole other to do it,” she huffed, looking over at the bearded man. he nodded to her once.

“go again,” luke said softly. lyra let out a breath, her hazel eyes lingering on his face a moment longer before she put the mask back on. her lightsaber activated and she stood poised before the trainer. “remember, focus on your feelings, you know where the shot will be before it’s there. let yourself feel it.”

lyra inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as she tried to quiet her thoughts and focus on the energy field around her. she moved fluidly with her lightsaber, catching every red laser shot in the blue-green beam of her saber.

“go lyra!” ben called from the sidelines and clapped his hands, a grin on his face. their force bond was strong enough that he felt her pride, shared her joy- as did his twin sister, who swatted him in the arm. 

“you’re going to break her concentration!” jaina chastised, a smile on her own face as they watched their friend succeed with the force trainer. the trainer suddenly lowered, announcing loudly that the training level was complete.

lyra pulled off the eye covering with a grin on her face as her saber shut down in her hand and rushed up to luke, who bent down with a smile on his face and enveloped her in a half-hug. “never doubt yourself,” he ran his hand gently over her dark braid with a proud smile on his face. lyra beamed up at her jedi master before running over to her friends with the same enthusiasm to be enveloped in a double hug.

“uncle luke my turn!” jaina exclaimed excitedly as she drew her lightsaber, “i bet i can beat my record from last week!”

luke let out a laugh, unable to hide the look of exhaustion on his face from the three jedis in training (well, if he was being honest, it was mostly the solo twins). “it’s not a competition jaina. you three are going to be jedis.” luke explained, looking down at a slightly disappointed jaina, a hopeful lyra, and ben who seemed to be 500 light years away. “you are the protection of the galaxy. you need to not only trust yourself, but trust those who stand beside you.”

“but uncle luke, isn’t a little competition good for us?” jaina asked sweetly, holding her lightsaber at her side.

luke pinched the bridge of his nose and muttering how much she sounded like han, “a little competition is good for certain-“

“great! so it’s my turn?” jaina beamed, to which ben rolled his eyes.

“you’re not even that great with your lightsaber, jaina.” the younger twin scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“better than you, wookie breath!” jaina retorted at her twin,

“laser brain!” ben yelled in response,

“Nerf herder!”

“hey! jaina! ben! enough!” luke yelled, raising his hands and summoning both light sabers from the twins hands. “you both need to learn to control your emotions. you can’t let anger control you.” the jedi master explained calmly, “you both could learn from lyra, here.” luke added, nudging his head towards the young padawan as he tucked the twins lightsabers into his pockets. “you can collect these from your mother when she sees fit. class is dismissed.”

the twins groaned in near unison, and ben stormed off in a fit. jaina grumbled under her breath for a moment before sighing as she turned to lyra, “you did great today, i’m sorry my brothers a jealous hutt-spawn.”

as the twins bickered, lyra bit her lower lip, focusing instead on force lifting some pebbles at her feet. sometimes their energy was so chaotic she needed to mentally remove herself from their presence before she became too enveloped in it herself. luke had taught her this, to remove herself and focus her energy in a different way. ben brushed her shoulder on his way past and broke her concentration, pebbles clattering to the ground around her. lyra watched him go for a moment and then looked back at jaina, her hazel eyes wide. “it’s okay,” she shrugged a little, looping her arm through her friend’s as the young girls walked away from the training area. “should we, like… make sure ben’s alright?” she asked, glancing at the girl beside her.

luke didn’t turn his head, as to not let the girls know that he was listening. (spoiler alert, of course he was listening.) he was proud of lyra for consistently trying, and usually succeeding, at bringing the twins together and maintaining their tempers. 

jaina sighed at her friends suggestion, but did end up nodding her head, “yeah, yeah i guess we should.” the preteen muttered, kicking a rock before her and lyra followed after ben. “how do you always manage to stay calm like that? ben just…he makes me so mad sometimes…” jaina frowned as they walked.

ben was sitting by the lake, using the force to skip rocks across the water 20-30 times. he hadn’t felt like himself lately. he’d been hearing voices, voices that told him to do terrible things. he was scared.

lyra smiled a bit and shrugged as the girls walked towards the place they could always find the other solo twin. “well, if I don’t stay calm then i’ll freak out too and you, me, and ben will all kill each other, and where will that leave us?” she said with a laugh, raising her brows and looking at jaina with a playful grin. “race you!” she let go of jaina’s arm and broke into a run towards ben, slowing up as she reached him and sensed his energy. “hey,” she sat beside him as he skipped stones, looking over at the dark haired boy.

lyra laughed, “hey! thats cheating!” she called out after her friend, taking off into a sprint after her, she slowed down as she approached too, quietly sitting on ben’s other side.

“i’m fine.” ben lied, skipping another rock and losing his concentration. the rock fell to the bottom of the lake on its third skip, and ben huffed out in frustration. “what do you want?” he muttered, not looking at either girl as he skipped another rock.

“well,” jaina chewed her bottom lip, sensing her brother didn’t want to talk about it. she picked up a rock and ran her fingers over it gently, “mind if we sit here and be fine with you?” she asked, earning a shrug from her younger brother. jaina skipped her rock, letting the silence sit for a moment as ben attempted to skip another. when it fell to the bottom on it’s 10th skip, jaina spoke up again, “i’m sorry about what i said during practice, ben.”

ben didn’t look up at his sister, instead skipped another rock. this time, without the force, it skipped 12 times before falling. “uncle luke always says to control our anger but…i always feel angry…” ben frowned, looking at the next rock he’d picked up.

lyra picked up a stone and tossed it, watching it skip across the water. “what’re you angry about?” she asked, turning her head towards the lake. she picked up another stone and tossed it, the flat side rippling the water.

ben chewed his lip, debating telling the girls what he’d been experiencing lately. but instead, he shook his head, “it’s nothing. i’m just tired.” he lied, skipping another rock.

jaina studied her brother, glancing over at lyra. she could feel sadness radiating off of him, but she couldn’t feel what was making him feel this way. “well…lyra and i are here for you.” she muttered, “even if you are a jealous hutt-spawn.” she teased, nudging him in the side.

ben forced a thin smile as he skipped another rock. he felt better with jaina and lyra beside him, “you have a very calming energy, lyra.” ben commented, looking over at her with sad eyes.

lyra met jaina’s eye and shook her head a little, indicating that they probably shouldn’t push it. lyra pushed back a piece of chocolate colored hair that had fallen out of her braid, glancing over a ben with a soft smile. “thanks, ben,” she picked up another stone, smoothing her thumb over the surface a few times. “it’s not always easy,” she tossed the pebble, watching it go. “sometimes it’s like uncle luke forgot what it’s like to be 12,” she huffed, resting her chin on her hand. “but he’s trying,” she looked over at ben. “everyone’s just trying their best.”

ben sighed, looking at the rock in his hand, “you know how they tell us about grandpa anakin? how he fell to the dark side?” he asked, looking at jaina then over at lyra, “do you think that could happen to us?” 

jaina blinked, looking at her brother curiously before glancing to meet lyra’s eye, her brows furrowed together worriedly. “i…i don’t think so, ben. we’re good people…mom and dad they…well, they’ve done their best to keep us safe.” she said softly, skipping a rock, “and grandpa anakin redeemed himself in the end…remember? he saved uncle luke…” she reminded him gently.

ben sighed again, looking at the girls on either side of him, “i know it’s just…” he trailed off, shaking his head, “i guess i’m just tired, i haven’t been sleeping well.” he admitted, looking down at his shoes.

lyra turned towards ben, fiddling with the hem of her tunic. “are you still having the dreams?” she asked him softly, resting a hand on his shoulder to get him to look at her. he’d talked to her and jaina about his nightmares before, but he hadn’t recently and these moods were so worrying. she didn’t like seeing him like this.

the rock ben was holding slipped through his fingers when lyra asked him about the dreams. the rock fell to the ground with a soft thud, and ben bit into his bottom lip. he glanced over at lyra and nodded his head softly, “they…they’re getting worse.” he said softly, “they feel…so real.”

jaina frowned deeply, “but ben, they’re not.” she looked at her brother worriedly, “we are. me, lyra, jacen. mom, dad, uncle luke, aunt mara…we’re all real and we all love you.” the older sister smiled softly. 

ben forced a thin smile, looking down at his hands. “i know but…my dreams feel real too…they feel so real.” he sighed, exasperated.

lyra sighed softly and slid her hand from ben’s shoulder to wrap around his arm, her cheek against his shoulder. “what’s happening in them, what makes them feel so real?” she asked him as she sat slumped against him. the friendship that held them together, kept these three so close, was built on raw honesty and trust, and lyra didn’t want that to ever change.

ben grumbled under his breath, skipping another rock across the water. jaina looked at her brother, resting a reassuring hand on his back. “they can’t hurt you.” she said softly.

“it’s just…they…they tell me to do things…and they know things…i can feel them in the force.” ben mumbled, skipping a rock as hard as he could. jaina felt a chill run down her spine and she looked over at lyra worriedly.

lyra furrowed her brow, straightening up from where she sat. “then maybe… maybe there’s some reality there…” she said, her arm sliding down ben’s arm to rest in the crook. “if you can feel it in the force… ben, have you told uncle luke?” she asked softly, glancing to jaina.

ben shook his head, “uncle luke has enough to worry about…it’s just bad dreams, lyra it’s nothing serious…” he mumbled, looking at his hands, then over at the two girls. he inhaled deeply and threw another stone.

jaina frowned deeply, “ben, you know how serious this could be. we need to tell uncle luke, or at least mom and dad. they can help you. if it really is in the force then we all can.”

lyra mulled the thought over, looking over at ben. “it’s clearly bothering you, it’s serious enough,” she said softly, glancing at jaina. “I don’t like what it’s doing to you, you don’t seem like yourself.”

ben chewed his bottom lip, “it’s just nightmares.” he muttered, standing up, “it’s not real. none of it is real.” he insisted, sliding his hands into his pockets and staring straight ahead. 

jaina watched as her brother stood up, looking over at lyra with concern in her eyes. she could tell ben wasn’t acting like himself, but she could feel how locked away he was about the situation. “ben-”

“i’m fine! seriously, i’m fine. besides, i don’t want to give uncle luke another reason to keep my lightsaber.”

lyra looked up at ben with wide hazel eyes, unease sinking into her. the energy around him was clouded. “ben, are you sure?” she pressed, looking up at him from where she sat beside jaina. “I don’t think you should just let this go.”

.................................


	2. the battle at savareen

explosions rang out through the jedi school. the sith had attacked, and sixteen year olds jainia solo and lyra galora were among the best defense the school had. “i can’t find ben or jacen!” jaina called out, looking over at her friend with worried eyes. “we have to split up!” she yelled out, shiieldinig he face from flyinig debris. “you find ben! i need to find jacen and get him to my parents!” she called out, “i trust you!” she added, looknig at her friend seriously, though they were in a terrifying situatiion. jaina paused, pulliing lyra in for a hug before letting go, “i fear something terrible has happened. i feel it in the force.” she said to her frieind, panic startinig to set in, “use the force if you need me. i fear we’ve lost ben.” jaina yelled over the battle field noise around them. she’d felt her brother leave the force. she felt him sink into darkness. and it felt like a big black pit in her stomach.

lyra returned jaina’s embrace tightly, finding solace in their force bond to each other. “I feel it too,” she nodded, looking at jaina worriedly. she could feel their shared panic as the young women stood amongst flying debris and blaster fire. “go find jacen, i’ll get ben, we’ll be okay,” she repeated their plan before hugging jaina one last time. “may the force be with you,” she nodded to her closest friend before the girls parted ways. lyra sprinted towards the lakeside where she could always find ben, and sure enough, there he was, his green lightsaber crashing harshly into a double bladed red one. “ben!” lyra yelled as she ran, activating her light saber. the sparkling pale blue blade twirled around her wrist as she ran towards them.

“give in to it, ben!” the red-faced horned man wielding the double sided red blade fought the younger solo twin. “give in to your anger!”

a deep-seeded feeling of unease struck lyra as she caught this, charging up to the pair. spotting her in his periphery, darth maul split his double sided saber into two, easily fighting the two young jedi. he knocked ben backwards, sending him to the ground with a thud. force lifting lyra, darth maul looked to ben, feeding off of the rage building within him. choking and clutching at her throat, lyra dropped her lightsaber. gasping for air, she felt her way to jaina, managing one single word: help.

jaina was running as fast as she could, racing through hallways as she searched for jacen. she called out his name, ducking from flying debris. she stopped in her tracks, as if being yanked back by a pit in her stomach. lyra. the brunette turned around and quickly raced towards where she had come from. 

ben yelled out, looking at lyra helplessly. he couldn’t do this. there was no hope. he couldn’t do this. not anymore. the young boy fell to his knees, and slowly dropped his lightsaber. it shut off, and rolled towards the feet of darth maul.

jaina collapsed as she approached the fight, at the same moment ben knelt before the sith lord. 

“you know what you must do.” darth maul stated, looking the younger solo twin in the eye.

“no!” jaina yelled, stumbling to her feet and drawing her purple lightsaber. she moved quickly, swinging her weapon to slice darth maul’s hand that had been holding lyra captive.

“ben, don’t,” lyra choked out, watching desperately as he grew a bit fuzzy, clawing at her own skin to try and relieve the pressure around her neck. when jaina broke the bond holding her midair, lyra hit the ground and tumbled a few feet, gasping for air. she crawled to where her lightsaber lay in the grass and picked herself up, ready to fight. 

darth maul let out a grunt as he lost a limb, swinging his other limb as jaina approached them. he swung his lightsaber and smashed at the ground below, splitting the lightsaber ben had made years ago in two.

lyra felt a wave of dread wash over her as she ran up, her spirit feeling as though it left her body as she watched ben use the force to summon the blade attached to darth maul’s severed hand and activate the red saber. “ben, no!” she screamed as he charged his twin sister, a look in his eye that she didn’t recognize. the red skinned man was now coming at lyra and her distracted mind wasn’t at it’s highest capacity to fend him off. she tried desperately to remain in the moment and focus as her blade clashed with maul’s, dipping and dodging out of the way when she could. she could hear the twins fighting, and it was all too much. maul caught her with his blade, their sabers locked together as they stood inches apart. she was holding him off with all her might, trying not to meet his yellow eyes.

“there’s hate in your heart,” he hissed, a smile pulling at his lips.

“for you,” she snapped back quickly before throwing him off her as they continued to battle.

jaina yelled out as darth maul destroyed ben’s light saber, and watched in horror as her twin summoned the red weapon. “ben!” she yelled, “don’t do this! you don’t need to do this!” jaina cried out, her soul feeling like it was being torn from her body. 

“yes i do!” ben yelled in response, the hate in his heart was overwhelming. he felt nothing but darkness, even now. looking at his twin and his dearest friend. he felt nothing. “this is my destiny!”

“ben don’t make me hurt you!” jaina cried out, standing to her feet and raising her weapon, “you can stop this. you’re a good person!”

“shut UP!” ben yelled, racing towards his sister with his blade drawn. the red and purple blades collided, jaina skillfully blocking his attack.

“what about jacen!? about mom and dad? uncle luke?!” jaina yelled, swinging her lightsaber at her brother. ben blocked the attack again, pushing his sister back as he did. “what about lyra!” jaina screamed, swinging again at her brother, kicking him in the chest to throw him off his balance. 

“i don’t care!” ben yelled back, swinging his lightsaber at his sister again. jaina yelled out in pain, 

“what about ME!” jaina screamed at her brother, “after everything we’ve been through, ben!” she cried out, pleading with her brother, “i won’t ask you again. please ben. don’t make me do this!”

ben yelled as he swung his lightsaber at his sister. jaina cried out, feeling her brother leave the light as he swung at her. she held up her lightsaber in defense, but he overpowered her. ben pushed hard, pressing her lightsaber across her chest, burning her with a sickening hiss. jaina screamed out in pain, both physical and through the force. ben stumbled back, feeling his sister’s force shield push against him. jaina screamed again as she swung her lightsaber between her hands over her head, winding up to strike her brother’s lightsaber from his hands, then kick him to the ground. 

“i won’t ever forgive you for this!” she screamed, raising her hand to force him to the ground. ben grasped at his throat, looking up at his sister. he could feel the darkness growing in her. jaina held her lightsaber at her brothers face, the wound across her chest stinging. she raised her lightsaber, but as she did, she felt the wind knock out ofher, jaina saw jacen, and felt as a sith warrior take his life. she screamed out, falling to her knees, and her lightsaber dropping across ben’s face, scarring her twin in a similar fashion.

“jacen is gone, jaina!” ben cried out, his hand covering the fresh wound on his face, while he writhed on the ground in pain, “come to the dark! we can be unstoppable!”

jaina cried out, fists clenched as she felt the spirit of her youngest brother leaving this plane of reality. “you! you did this! you killed jacen!” she screamed, her anger overpowering. she screamed out again, and as she did, force lightning came through her hands, lighting up the sky around the twins. she aimed the lightning in both directions, disarming the sith that surrounded her and lyra, and sending darth maul flying. 

lyra tried to wipe her mind, but the disturbances rippling through them with the loss of fellow students and jedi were nauseating. she fought darth maul with a grace he hadn’t seen in decades, the sweeping movements reminiscent of another master he’d ended so long ago. ‘go where he least expects,’ the soft, knowing voice of qui-gon from the great beyond found its way to lyra and she tumbled to the side where she could clip maul’s leg with her blade and maim him further. his blade snapped into hers and he pushed her, hard. the pair were interlocked, forces matched, as maul continued to stare into lyra’s soul. she felt him trying to enter her mind, prying at every precipice for entry, and the unsettling, invasive feeling made her shudder. breaking their hold, lyra swung her saber quickly, sparks flying as they continued to duel. continuous loss of life reverberated through her, pieces of her heart breaking off with each and every one. just when she thought the solo twins attacking each other was ripping her to shreds, the loss of young jacen solo wracked through her and lyra stumbled backwards, the breath leaving her lungs with the gravity of the feeling. darth maul backed her against a boulder, the cold stone biting into her back. she stared death in the face as he raised his blade to her throat, trapping her where she stood.

“dathomirian,” he hissed, pulling bits and pieces from her memory out as slowly as he could. his blade spit sparks onto the skin of her neck, leaving speckles of seared flesh in their wake. the sensation of trying to hold her own mind together, to keep it all straight was shaking her bones. “you’re far from home, princess,” he said with a sick laugh, pushing the blade closer to her neck. “join the first order, or die,” he spat. memories she didn’t know she had were ripped away from her and she felt as though her mind were being flayed piece by piece. lyra clenched her jaw tightly, staring back up at him. she was covered in sweat, tears, blood… if she were to die, now would be a noble way to go.

lightning struck the ground around her and for a split second, lyra was fully convinced she’d been ripped from this planet and transcended high above. the force of the lightning had sent her falling to her knees at the base of the boulder and gasping for air. the red skinned zabrak hauled himself to his feet, somehow managing to press on. lyra pulled herself up unsteadily, grasping the boulder for support. she activated her lightsaber, the pale blue-green illuminating the ground around her.

“ah, so you choose to die,” maul seethed, charging at lyra with his blade raised.

jaina slowly rose to her feet, lightning still sparking in her hands as she looked down at her brother. she used the last of the lighting she was wielding towards lyra and darth maul, giving her friend an extra second to balance as the red faced man charged at her.

ben was slower to stand up, the combination of jaina scarring his face and the strength of her force lightning had knocked him back. he turned over and force summoned the red weapon.

“i can feel the darkness in you sister,” ben called as he pushed himself to his feet, “succumb to it! join me. together we can finish what our grandfather started!” ben offered jaina his hand, outstretched, an act of ‘peace’.

“our grandfather was a murderer!” jaina retorted, summoning her lightsaber as she glared at her brother, “now you’re no better.” the older twin ached, feeling the loss of their youngest brother so deeply. it was tearing her apart. “you were my brother!” she yelled, unable to hold back the tears that raced down her cheeks as she stared at ben, “i trusted you!” she cried out, feeling the loss of their fellow jedi in every part of her soul. the pain rocketed through every part of her body. she charged at her brother, their lightsabers crashing together again as ben blocked her attack.

“we can rule the galaxy! come with me!” ben yelled over the destruction around them, spinning and colliding with his sisters purple lightsaber again.

“she’s weak!” darth maul yelled to his new apprentice as he blocked lyras lightsaber with his own, “strike her! now!”

jaina stared at her brother after they had collided in battle again. he was the person who had stood beside her since the day the two were born, but now he stood in darkness. it surrounded him, and threatened to drag her down too. “you’ve killed people, ben! our brother! jacen is dead because of you!” she shook her head, “i won’t ever forgive you for this. i will spend my days ensuring that you pay for what you’ve done to the jedi. for what you’ve done to our family! to me and lyra! you’ve ruined everything!”

“don’t let his darkness consume you!” obi wans voice scolded. jaina inhaled, feeling the jedi masters presence with her in the force. a strange calm came over her as visions of obi wan and anakin similarly battling flashed through the solo girls mind. as ben raised his lightsaber, jaina raised her now lightning scarred hand, stopping her brother in his tracks. she used the force to throw him aside, and ran over to lyra and darth maul. it was too late to save her brother, but she could still save her friend.

lyra held her head high as maul stalked around her, her heart pounding in her ears. she sliced through the air rapidly, red and blue sparking off one another as her lightsaber collided with his. she felt the pull of his claws in her mind, trying again to dig for memories, anything he could use against her. lyra fought back, mentally and physically. she met him at every strike and blow, defending herself elegantly through the blood sweat and tears. she carefully focused in on feeling his movements, honing her precognition as luke was teaching her. she was able to dodge a blow by diving out of the way, but got caught on a hunk of debris. having her pinned again, maul once again held his lightsaber to her throat. he stepped down on her wrist and hand that clutched desperately to her lightsaber, crushing her beneath his weight. out of breath with tears running down her cheeks, lyra stared up at him, her chest heaving.

“ben!” she screamed out, a last attempt at getting her oldest friend to come back to her, back to the light.

“ben solo is dead,” maul wound back to strike her one final time.

jaina sprinted towards lyra, yelling as she swung her lightsaber at the sith who’d been attacking her.

“jaina solo…you still think you can make a difference. it’s pathetic.”

“says the evil dude with horns.” she scoffed in his face, “i took one of your hands, i’ll happily take another.” she retorted sarcastically, sweat and blood dripping down her forehead.

“then you will both die.” maul summoned the light saber ben had been using, connecting the two ends as he stared at the girls. just then, jaina heard a familiar sound. the millennium falcon.

the approaching ship created a large enough gust of wind to throw off darth mauls balance. jaina grabbed lyras arm, “we can’t win this. we need to go!” she yelled as her friend stumbled to her feet. the pair took off running towards the ship, where Han was waiting on the dock, shooting at anyone who came close.

“Jaina! Lyra! Over here!” he called out as they approached. the girls ducked, more destruction happening around them.

“go with my dad! i can’t leave jacen here.” jaina implored, looking at lyra seriously, “ill steal a ship. we can reconvene on jakku!” she yelled over the noise as han helped lyra into the ship, looking at his daughter sadly.

lyra grasped her best friend’s hand as jaina reached them, stumbling a step when they began to run but quickly matching her pace. the sight of the falcon amongst the fire and fury was a welcome one. the pair reached the ramp and lyra whipped around as jaina spoke. she ripped her arm from han’s grasp and leapt off the ship. “you’re absolutely not staying here alone,” she stepped her foot off the ramp, both now planted firmly on the ground. “if you’re going then i’m coming with you,” she insisted, her hazel eyes studying jaina’s expression. “we’re stronger together.”

“girls, please,” han motioned for them. he suddenly looked so old, so tired. “get on the goddamn ship, i’m not going to fight you.”

“han, go, we’ll bring jacen back,” lyra looked at the tall man, who clenched his jaw and took a step back. there was no use in fighting with them.

“you’ll be the death of me,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “I love you.” han stepped back onto the ship and the falcon pulled away. 

lyra nodded to jaina in agreement, the girls running towards the temple where they had both felt jacen leave them. lyra’s hazel eyes flashed behind her and caught sight of ben dragging himself across the ground. in a split second, she saw darth maul plunge his red blade into ben’s back, and the feral scream that bellowed from the solo boy reverberated through both of the jedis running towards jacen’s body. more painful than the sensation of him slipping from the light, the feeling of ben’s consciousness leaving was like daggers to the soul. lyra’s foot caught a piece of debris and between that and the sensation of one of her closest force bonds being ripped away from her, she went shattering to the ground. she barely registered jaina pulling her to her feet as the two of them rushed through the temple to find jacen, both girls silently crying as they did such. bringing jacen’s smaller statured limp body from the temple into a ship neither of the young women had entered before left lyra feeling numb. she took care to settle jacen’s body in a place he would be safe for the flight, brushing a blood soaked dark curl from his face. with the ship leaving the ground and jaina in the pilot’s seat, lyra took the moment of silence and peace to sink to her knees and weep, the gravity of the day’s events crashing through her. she sobbed into her arms as she knelt beside jacen’s body, her shoulders trembling. how had everything been destroyed so quickly? they knew darkness had been brewing in ben, but gods, lyra thought they were getting somewhere, bringing him towards the light with every passing day.

when ben cried out, jaina’s whole world sunk into darkness. her twin. her other half. torn away from her. the fresh wound across her chest stung and ached. she couldn’t allow herself to feel those emotions right now. they needed to get jacen, and get to jakku. when lyra fell, jaina was catching her elbow almost instantly, “come on.” she assured softly, tears racing down her cheeks. when the girls got into the temple and found jacen. jainia fell to her knees. she looked at her youngest brother, her heart aching as she took his face in her hands, whispering how sorry she was that she wasn’t able to protect him. the girls slung his arms over one of their shoulders, and carried their fallen brother to the hangar. once setting his body into a chair, lyra took care to settle him in as jaina began figuring out the controls for the ship. she couldn’t allow herself to feel the immensity of her sorrow. she would be overwhelmed with it. she got the ship up and flying, immediately jumping into hyperspace the minute they were far enough from the ground. jaina took a deep breath, her hands trembling. she looked down at them, fully taking in the damage the force lightning had done to her hands. both palms now scarred pink with little lightning bolts. her head was pounding, her chest aching, and she’d never felt so alone. after moments of silence, she turned to look over at lyra, “…are you alright?” she asked softly, knowing that neither of them were, but not knowing what else to say.

lyra picked her head up, teary eyes finding jaina’s face. “are you?” she flipped the question on her friend, reaching up to take her hand and squeeze it as tears ran down her cheeks. “jane, I can’t imagine how you’re feeling,” she picked herself up and wrapped around her friend, the other girl a rare shower of emotion. lyra squeezed her friend close and rested a hand on the back of her head, very carefully using the force to pull some of the weight of jaina’s emotional turmoil from her shoulders. she’d do anything for jaina, the girls had been inseparable for as long as she could remember, and now it seemed as though they were all the other had.

..................


	3. reunited on d'qar

“does my hair look okay?” jaina asked lyra, fixing herself in the mirror in her cabin on the millenium falcon. jaina solo, lyra galora, jedi master garrick kenobi, anakin skywalker, and lowbacca were all en route to d’qar . jedi master luke skywalker, his wife mara skywalker, and general organa-solo were awaiting their arrival. it was time the young jedis started participating in the politics. after all, lyra and jaina both were princesses. “my mom always makes a comment about my hair.” she mumbled, checking her braid again.

“you look lovely, j.” anakin teased as he sat in the co-pilots seat. jaina rolled her eyes at her cousin, turning to face lyra,

“i need an opinion that matters, ani. not yours.” she scoffed, looking at her friend seriously. “i’ve never been to this rebel base before and, well, you know the kinda attention our names bring.” she muttered, looking to her cousis.

“your cousins right, jaina. you look lovely.” garrick commented from where he stood, checking the communications monitor. a stubborn blush crept up jaina’s cheeks, and she quickly turned to holster her pistol and her lightsaber.

“i haven’t seen my mom in months. oh god she’s gonna lecture me for trying to break dad’s Kessel Run record.” she looked at lyra, panicked as the ship came to a landing. lowie let out a yell, to which jaina chuckled lightly,

“yeah lowie. guess you could say we’re home. come on r2. mom and dad are gonna wanna see you too.” jaina smiled softly, inhaling deeply as the gate lowered. jaina grabbed lyra’s hand tightly as the gang stepped out to meet the rebel base.

lyra came up behind jaina in the mirror, squeezing her friend’s arm gently and resting her chin on jaina’s shoulder with a smile. “you look perfect,” she smoothed jaina’s white cowl, straightening it from the back. “and garrick seems to think so too,” she breathed, a smirk playing on her lips as she watched the other girl blush in the mirror. she turned and gathered her own saber, clipping it to her belt, and sliding the blaster into the holster on her thigh. 

garrick side stepped and gestured for lyra and jaina to go ahead of him and his padawan. his eyes lingered on jaina for a moment too long and snapped out of it only as anakin walked a step ahead of him, lowie bringing up the tail of the group.

lyra’s hair was twisted in a long elaborate braid falling down the middle of her back, swaying as the girls walked across the platform towards the hanger entrance. she clutched jaina’s hand excitedly, impatient to experience the senate meeting first hand. she had only ever read of them, seen images. democracy in practice, now that was something she could get behind. she felt a hand graze her butt as they closed in on the entrance to the elegant senate building and her head whipped around, only to catch anakin’s eye.

anakin feigned innocence as lyra turned to glare at him. garrick elbowed his padawan in the ribs as the group exited the ship. “seems like they heard we were coming.” anakin muttered, glancing to his friends beside him.

“you think?” jaina muttered, forcing a smile at the large, still gathering, group around their ship.

“it’s good to see you both in one piece.” general leia organa-solo smiled, standing front and center with han, chewie, luke, and mara beside her.

“hey mom.” jaina smiled as leia pulled her in for a hug, “it’s been a while.”

“artoo!” luke smiled, kneeling to the droid, “good to see you buddy. have the kids been taking care of you?” artoo beeped happily, rolling around in a circle before stopping again infront of luke.

“everyone here heard you were coming in today, all got excited to meet the sword,” luke looked at jaina proudly, turning to lyra as he continued, “and the savior, of the jedi.” the jedi master smiled proudly, as mara pulled anakin into a tight hug, before doing the same to lyra,

“it’s so good to see you dear, you look well.” mara smiled, looking over lyra proudly. the young jedi had always felt like her daughter, not just her padawan. lyra was a part of their family.

“i heard about kessel run, jaina.” han scolded, crossing his arms over his chest. jaina cracked a small smirk, shrugging her shoulders once.

“someone’s gonna do it in eleven par secs one day! it might as well remain in the family!” she teased, earning an eye roll from han who then pulled her into a hug.

“i like the hair, j.” leia smiled, looking over her daughter and han as they hugged. “there are some officers i’d like you to meet. you remember vice admiral holdo,”

“of course. a pleasure to see you again vice admiral.” jaina smiled, shaking the purple haired woman’s hand.

“pleasure’s all mine, jedi knight solo.” she smiled,

“and you remember lieutenant connix,” leia continued as the two girls exchanged pleasantries. “and this is commander poe dameron, one of the finest pilots in our fleet, and his brother, cassian.”

jaina’s eyes raked over the man her mother pointed out as poe. he stood a bit taller than her, much like garrick did. his dark curls fell around his face, and his eyes were dark, yet somehow still warm? the fact that her mother wanted to introduce them immediately told her something. she just didn’t know what. “a pilot?” jaina questioned, “well, i’ll have to see if you’re any good.” she smirked, knowing her reputation preceded her as she extended her hand to the dark haired man.

lyra resisted the urge to swat at ani, and beamed as they reached their loved ones. she was quickly enveloped in a tight hug from mara. “lovely to see you as well, how’ve the meetings gone?” she asked mara with a bright smile.

mara nodded a bit, smiling down at lyra’s hopeful face. “about as well as expected,” she looked up at her son as he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. “how was the trip?” she looked to anakin.

“didja get taller?” han clapped a hand on lowie’s hairy arm and chortled when he let out a triumphant howl.

poe stood to the side of the group alongside his brother, who was all to eager to greet everyone. dark, shining curls of hair fell across poe’s forehead and he smiled as leia introduced him. he pulled jaina’s hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently. “princess,” he smirked softly, eyes flitting over her face. she was more beautiful than he’d imagined her to be. “the general tells me you’re one hell of a pilot yourself.”

garrick walked over to luke, shaking his hand and chatting about what he’d missed while traveling with the young knights to the planet. 

jaina raised her brow as poe kissed her hand, “it’s jedi knight solo, not princess.” she corrected, though smirking. “one of the best known in the galaxy.” she also corrected, before turning to cassian, “pleasure to meet you as well.” jaina offered a smile, extending her hand.

cassian, like his brother, also raised her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles in a similar fashion. “it’s truly an honor to meet you, jedi knight solo.” the young dark haired boy smiled, “you and jedi knight galora are both more beautiful than the stories claim.”

anakin and garrick both tensed at the younger dameron’s words. “what do those stories claim ‘bout me?” anakin responded over his shoulder, looking at cassian seriously.

garrick rest hisi hand on anakin’s shoulder, “we should get going. this is the first time in a very long time we’ve had enough jedi knights to hold a place here in the council.” he and luke exchanged a smile before he turned and looked at jaina, lyra and anakin again.

“it was an honor to meet you, commander dameron. i look forward to proving which of us ranks superior.” she smirked, her eyes raking over him, “perhaps you can give me a tour of the hangar after the politics is done.” she suggested.

“we should be going.” garrick interrupted, feeling a bit jealous of the attention jaina was giving this pilot.

lyra shook hands with poe with a soft smile on her face, polite even when he kissed her knuckles, an action she despised. his brother followed suit, his dark eyes boring holes in hers. “lyra galora,” she said softly, her name rolling off her tongue in a wave with her accent.

“the savior,” poe nodded his head, smiling softly. “quite the dynamic duo, you two,” he looked between the girls. cassian ran his tongue over his lower lip as his eyes now settled on jaina. “we can talk more later, i’m sure.”

garrick placed a hand between each of the girls’ shoulder blades to usher them forward. the young jedi took their place beside their masters, lyra next to luke and jaina beside mara, on either side of garrick and anakin. 

the facility took lyra’s breath away and as she sat beside luke, she couldn’t help but talk to him quietly about the space. he pointed out who was sitting where, explained the structure of the meeting for the day, taking care to answer all of lyra’s questions in detail (as usual). as the lights went down and the room fell silent, lyra sat back in her chair. she inhaled as she felt a hand on her thigh to her left, the warmth of it permeating her clothes. she turned her chin to the left to look at anakin, who sat beside her. 

jaina felt a bit stiff in her seat. she knew she should have been more interested in the politics, but she was focusing instead on what everyone around her was thinking. it had been a long time since most of their family had been in one place. that thought made jaina pause. guess this is the whole family now. she exhaled slowly, sinking slightly in her seat as the senators began speaking.

once the senate had finally reached their closing remarks, the group was permitted to leave. “you do this all day?” jaina asked her mother softly, stretching her arms over her head, “two hours of it and i’m exhausted.”

“once you get used to the senators speaking in circles around themselves, these type of meetings get much easier to enjoy. come on, we’ve got a meal prepared back at base. i want to hear all about these past few months from you and lyra.” leia joked, weaving her arm through her daughters as they walked, “it’s good to see you jaina. you look well.”

“thanks mom. so do you and dad. chewie too.” she joked softly, “food sounds great, i can’t wait to explore this base. i need to do some work on the falcon too. dad will love that.“ she laughed, "having artoo with us has been a dream. where’s 3po?” jaina continued, looking up at her mom before over to lyra, who was engrossed in anakin. the two were walking a bit too close to one another and speaking a bit too softly. jaina looked to meet garrick’s eye and nudged to their friends with a grin.

lyra gushed to anakin excitedly about seeing mon mothma in person, talking animatedly with her hands. she was beaming. “and her anti-repression rhetoric is so iconic, stars, can you even believe we’re here? we’re witnessing history, ani!” she looked up at him with a bright grin, grasping his arm excitedly. she’d only ever read of mon mothma and her policies, and witnessing democracy in action was a dream come true. a fast approaching presence made her gravitate towards anikan.

cassian jogged up to lyra and anikan from where he’d been in the back of the group with his brother. a dark curl of hair had fallen across his forehead as he looked at them with what was probably a charming smile at times. the interruption had put off lyra, even more so when she heard what came out of his mouth: “thank gods that’s over, how boring,” he shook his head with a smirk on his face. lyra huffed.

“boring?” she repeated back to him, brows raised. “really?” she scoffed, looking cas up and down once before glancing to anakin. “did you think it was boring too?”

garrick couldn’t help but flash a smirk as he and jaina witnessed cassian fumble over himself before them. “poor boy’s just started a wildfire,” he said softly, chuckling as he glanced down at jaina. garrick couldn’t help but let his eyes linger. as the suns went down on coruscant, jaina’s eyes seemed to shimmer, her hair glow. she looked radiant. “would you meet me later, there’s some training we have left to do,” he said, his voice low as he looked down at the jedi beside him.

anakin looked at lyra with stars in his eyes as she spoke excitedly about the senate. he could feel the excitement radiating off of her. he loved the way her eyes lit up when she got excited, her smile lit up a room. “it is rather unbelievable. i’ve only read about mon mothma, and only because of you-“ he grinned as cassian ran up. the young skywalker tensed, looking at the dark haired pilot inquisitively. his demeanor changed when lyra asked him if he thought it was boring, “boring? of course not. this is democracy in action!” he repeated lyra’s words, knowing that even though he did find the political side of things to be a bit drab, he wasn’t about to take this guy’s side over lyra’s.

jaina bid her mother farewell as she, vice admiral holdo, mara and luke headed to base ahead of them. the brunette laughed as garrick spoke, looking over at her friend and her cousin as the young man who introduced himself as cassian ran over. “he doesn’t even know it, poor thing.” she laughed lightly, looking up to meet the blonde mans eye, “why do you think i spoke to my mother instead of lyra after that meeting?” she teased lowly, looking at his hands before looking up to meet his eye, “of course, master kenobi.” jaina bowed at the waist, unable to hide her smirk. “i’ll be working on the falcon after dinner, shall we meet there?” she proposed, her eyes wandering to the commander who had introduced himself as poe as he spoke to some of the other pilots, “funny that that one,” she nodded her head, “is this one’s brother.” she glanced over to cassian, who now was tripping over his words, and his feet, to continue talking to lyra.

cas appeared to choke on his words, a bit taken aback. “oh, I, erm,” he glanced between the two. “I think that maybe, under the right circumstance, I suppose it would be interesting,” he attempted to save himself, faltering again as lyra’s expression remained unchanged.

“thanks, ani,” the dark haired jedi looked up at anakin and away from cassian, emboldened. “the downfall of the resistance will be the undoing of democracy, and every effort to maintain it should be studied carefully,” she glanced to cas, her hazel eyes burning with intensity. “if you can’t understand that, then you’re on the wrong side.”

garrick chuckled softly, blue eyes on his apprentice, lyra, and the cocky young pilot. “it’s quite something, anakin thinks he has her wrapped around her finger but it’s truly the other way around,” he turned his attention back to jaina’s sweet face with a playful smirk. “the falcon it is, j,” his smirk sunk a hair when she mentioned poe, eyes flitting over to the tall dark pilot. “funny, indeed,” he nodded a bit, glancing down to jaina. it was so hard to read her feelings, the power behind her force abilities was to par with garrick and not many people could pry at her without her quickly figuring out what they were doing, which made figuring her out part of the challenge.

anakin smiled down at lyra, turning his eyes to cassian and darkening his glare as they continued walking. however, lyra’s words stung more than anakin’s glare could. “spooken like a true jedi, master galora.” anakin teased under his breath as cas got the hint, falling back with his co-pilots who were railing on him for his utter failure of conversation with the savior of the jedi. “we should go explore later, just the two of us.” anakin suggested lowly, leaning his mouth to her ear, “garrick and jaina are gonna be occupied, him with the jedi and her working on the falcon. and you know how our parents get in diplomatic situations.” the shaggy haired blonde went on, “they won’t even notice we’re gone.” he added, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was lookinig towards them, before slidinga hand to her lower back. he pulled her closer to him as jaina called out for ‘commander dameron’. anakin’s hands quickly snapped back to his sides, playing it as cool as he could while looking down at lyra with a crooked smirk, “what’dya say galora? wanna get in trouble with a skywalker?” he grinned. “for old times sake.” his grin grew wider.

jaina raised her brows at garrick, feeling his force push against hers as he attempted to pry into her mind, “master kenobi, i thought we had an agreement on mind reading?” she reminded the elder jedi, pushing against him and narrowing her eyes until she was able to peer into his mind, “and the agreement says, only while training.” jaina focused harder, seeing the type of ‘training’ garrick had in mind for the evening, and feeling waves of jealousy - because of the pilot? “well, guess we’re on the same page for tonight then.” she cracked a smirk up at the blonde. jaina knew exactly how to push garrick’s buttons, and used it to her advantage. it wasn’t often that the usually stoic jedi broke his disposition, but it nearly was always at jaina solo’s hands. “commander dameron!” jaina called out, waving poe over. she felt garrick’s protest, which only fueled her actions. “commander dameron, i’m sure you know general garrick kenobi.” she introduced the two men, “general kenobi’s grandfather and mine served alongside one another during the clone wars. it’s because of his grandfather, obi wan, my mother and uncle luke are alive.” she humbly bragged about the jedi master beside her, before turning her attention, undivided, to poe. resisting the urge to pry into his mind, jaina continued, “would you mind showing me to your fuel tanks? it’s been a while since i was on a rebel base this sophisticated, and my ship needs some work.” she lied cooly. she knew exactly how things worked here, but watching garrick shift uncomfortably was enough to make her continue on. besides, she was interested in getting to know this pilot commander her mother spoke so highly of.

lyra smiled up at anakin, heat prickling down her neck as she felt his breath on her ear. gods, he made her feel wicked. “how could i say no?” she asked breathily as he pulled her close, grasping his tunic in her fist when he let go of her to reel him back in. “if there is any trouble, i know you’re to blame,” she teased, batting her dark lashes a few times. her fingers released his top and she smoothed her palm over the wrinkles she’d made, subtly stroking down his abdomen once. “I think your master’s looking for you,” she reached up and held his chin delicately between her thumb and forefinger, grazing her thumb over his lower lip. “meet me later, back here,” she said softly, dropping her hands from him abruptly and breaking the brief moment of intimacy. lyra flashed him a wink and walked off towards leia to find her quarters.

garrick’s mouth fell open, his cheeks reddening beneath his beard. “jaina-” he started, before she called out the pilot’s name. her invasion of his mind had left him wanting to itch his brain. and now here she went, to go be incredibly charming by accident. the jedi huffed a breath, letting his light eyes follow her for another moment. blast. she was the ruin of him. he walked behind her, catching up just as she introduced him. “pleasure,” he nodded his head once, politely. jaina’s suggestion that she go off with poe knotted his stomach, and he backed off. thinking out his options, garrick determined that he needed a different distraction. anakin’s saber was spitting sparks and needed a tune-up, and if he didn’t push him to fix it, it would never get done.

poe glanced up from his conversation with the other rebel pilots, a smile stuck on his face as he saw jaina approach. “general,” he nodded in garrick’s direction, curious dark eyes unwavering from jaina’s face. “of course, it’d be an honor,” he flashed her a smile, gesturing forward. “i’m happy to show you around, what kind of ship are you flying now?” he asked, unable to stop himself from stealing glances at her as he brought her through the shipyard.

anakin smirked down at lyra as she pulled him back in. he licked across his bottom lip, only slightly flexing as she ran her hand down his chest. it took every ounce of the force within the young jedi to not lean in and kiss her as she ran her thumb over his lip. “my master?” anakin turned, internally groaning as he saw garrick approaching, “aw man, is this about the light saber again?” he groaned, looking to lyra and nodding once, a smirk toying at his lips again, “of course. see you later then.” anakin called out, watching lyra leave with almost literal hearts in his eyes. he snapped back into it when garrick asked to see his lightsaber. the young jedi pulled it from its holster and passed it to him, “what’d jaina do to you this time?” anakin questioned with a grin, feeling the uneasy, flustered, jealousness radiating off his friend.

jaina glanced back over her shoulder at garrick with a smirk as the pair approached commander dameron. she liked feeling garrick’s eyes on her. the same way lyra had anakin around her finger, jaina had him. “i’ll see you back at the ship tonight master kenobi. i look forward to our training.” she smiled sweetly, bowing at the waist again and feeling the blush of garricks cheeks as she looked up at him, and batted her lashes once more before he turned to head towards anakin. she watched garrick go for a moment, before turning back to face poe. “well, if you ask my father, he’d say he’s lending me the millenium falcon,” jaina shrugged, glancing up at the tall dark haired man, “i prefer to say i commandeered it.” she joked, gesturing towards her ship as it sat in the middle of the yard. “technically she’s a light freighter, or smuggling ship. been flying her for the past year and a half almost.” she beamed as she looked over the ship, before turning to poe, her eyes bright, “what about you, commander?“

lyra glanced back at anakin with a grin, catching up to leia and walking off to find her and jaina’s rooms. 

garrick glanced over his shoulder to jaina as he walked over to anakin, mirroring lyra’s actions. he let out a huff as he reached anakin. “she’s toying with me,” he mumbled, shaking his head. jaina always had a way of one-upping him, he was never a step ahead of her, and he didn’t know why he ever expected anything less. “and you don’t seem distracted at all yourself, my young padawan,” garrick said, thick saracasm in his voice. “come now, let’s fix that lightsaber. the last thing we need is for it to blow your arm off when you’re using it.” he beckoned anakin to come with him towards a repair bay.

poe looked down at jaina with a crooked grin. “the falcon, eh? your father’s a legend for flying her, he made the kessel run in 12 parsecs!” he leaned into her instinctually as he spoke, suavely pushing a hand through his dark curls. he followed her gaze to the ship, nodding thoughtfully. “seriously impressive, master solo,” he smiled to her, blissfully unaware of his error in titling. he just wanted to seem like he could keep it together in front of jaina solo, disarmingly beautiful and powerful as she was. “well, me, I got a t-70 x-wing starfighter, handles like a dream. incom-freiTek 5L5 fusial thrust engines, booster pod, space for my droid, i really couldn’t ask for more,” he said with a soft chuckle.

anakin let out a chuckle at garrick’s explanation of what had happened with jaina. “jaina? toy with you?” he teased back at his master, his demeanor shifting when garrick turned the question back on him. anakin scoffed, “i’m not- lyra’s not…” he shook his head a few times, “not distracted.” he muttered, hanging his head before looking back to garrick, “and no jedi mind tricks, master kenobi.” he scoffed, trying to turn his lightsaber on and sparking himself, “…alright let’s go.” he added in humility, following after his master.

jaina cracked a smirk, “one day i’m gonna run it in eleven.” she shrugged, matter of factly as she glanced up at the charming dark haired man as he ran a hand through his curls. a chill ran down her spine, one she’d only felt with garrick, and she snapped back into it when he called her master solo. “i like master more than princess.” she taunted, glancing up at him with a growing smirk, “a t-70 x-wing starfighter, huh? been awhile since i flew around in one of those.” she looked up at him, “i’ll be working around here after dinner, you should come by. i’d love to meet this droid of yours.” she asked as they approached the falcon. jaina took an extra moment to look up at her ship proudly. 

at the base, all was well (well, mostly) as garrick and his padawan set off to fix his saber, lyra settled into hers and jaina’s quarters, and jaina showed off her (erm, han’s) ship to commander dameron. as the night went on without a hitch, the sword and savior of the jedi hustled off to their respective agreed upon secret meeting places to make the base feel a little more like home.

lyra sat against the wheel of a rebel ship, mostly shielded by the mass of it as she waited for anakin. dark hair fell in soft waves around her face and the gentlest of breezes carried it to her right. the ends of it tickled her bare arm. butterflies rippled through her as she anticipated him, feeling devilish in their secret romps. the thrill of it sparked something deep in her that she had only felt once before they’d met, and that was years ago…

garrick arrived to the falcon’s on-ramp a few moments before he’d agreed to, always early. as he climbed onto the ship his mind whirred with the possibilities of what the night would entail, and his thoughts were curtly interrupted by boot-steps- too heavy to be jaina- and the gentle rolling of metal on metal- a droid?

“hey, princess!” poe called as he climbed aboard, bb-8 whirring along beside him. “I dropped my hydrospanner and I think it fell into a wormhole because it’s gone, can ya spare one?” he poked his head around the corner while looking for her, not really needing the tool, but really wanting to see her again.

garrick sighed and shut his eyes, wiling the pilot off the ship, but the man just kept coming.

“jaina?” poe called her name, rounding another corner and coming into contact with the jedi master. “oh! i’m sorry, master kenobi, have you seen jaina?” he asked, his brows raising.

“no, unfortunately,” garrick spoke concisely, growing tired of the pilot interrupting his time with the dark haired solo woman. “we were to go over some jedi texts, but she isn’t here yet.”

“i’ll leave you to it, i’m sorry to bother you,” poe smiled politely and bowed forward before turning around to go, disappointed.

anakin, twirling his repaired lightsaber in his hand, made his way to his and lyra’s agreed upon meeting spot. he glanced around as he approached, sensing lyra’s presence against the wheel of the rebel ship. anakin crept up, slowly sitting beside her, “definitely not the most romantic place to meet.” he grinned as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and gently leaned in to kiss her. this type of…arrangement was still new for anakin and lyra. considering how most things changed after the battle of the jedi temple, this change was surprisingly welcomed. “finally fixed my lightsaber!” he cracked a grin, turning it on once to show off the lack of sparks, “now garrick may leave me alone for a full day tomorrow…finally leave me more time to spend with you.” anakin whispered as he caressed lyra’s cheek.

jaina rounded a corner while wrapped in her thoughts. her mind was wandering to her evening with garrick. in her rare moment of inattention, she found herself colliding with commander poe dameron. the two stumbled, and he caught her waist before she fell. jaina gasped, clutching onto his shirt as he caught her and gently stood her back up to her feet. “oh my,” jaina cleared her throat, visibly flustered as if poe could peer into her mind and see the things she had been thinking about doing with master kenobi. “i am, so sorry.” jaina let out a small laugh, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear as she heard a droid’s excited beeping, and then a bb-8 unit wheeled out from behind poe, “is this your droid? oh my god!” she laughed, kneeling down to say hello, “hello little one! aren’t you cute.” she smiled, earning more happy beeps from the droid, “i’m late to meet master kenobi, did you need something?” jaina asked sweetly as she looked up at the other pilot.

lyra looked to anakin with a grin, excitedly pulling him closer as he leaned in to kiss her. this had all begun as a welcome distraction from the chaos following the attack on the temple, and had spiraled into this: feverishly jumping onto each other while running the risk of getting caught together, all for the thrill. “thank the gods,” she said with a laugh, placing her hand over his on the handle and pressing the button to turn it off. “I was wondering when you’d finally fix it, I was beginning to think you’d let it go until it fell apart piece by piece,” she teased. lyra looked up at anakin with hooded eyes, pulling her arms around her neck. “a whole day, hm?” she mused, brushing her nose to his once before tilting her head to plant small kisses across his face. 

poe was glad he’d caught jaina, but felt a pang of disappointment when he had to let go of her. he was shocked he’d caught her so off guard. “no, hey, i’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the dark haired man smiled softly down at her, his caramel eyes on her face. “this is bb-8,” he gestured down to the orange and white droid, who rolled right to jaina’s feet and happily chirped as she spoke to him. poe grinned at their interaction, the sight of the sword before him overwhelmingly pleasant. “yeah, I did need something, uh,” you. he took a breath and let out a soft laugh, shrugging a bit. “I don’t remember what I was looking for.”

“commander dameron,” garrick walked over to them from the control room where he’d been waiting for jaina, tool in hand. “the hydrospanner you were looking for,” he held out the cool metal to poe, eyes not settling on jaina quite yet. he wanted the pilot gone. garrick smiled politely and poe took it, nodding once.

“oh, that, yeah. thanks, master kenobi,” he glanced to jaina, smile softening. “goodnight, princess,” poe shot her a wink before ducking off the ship. bb-8 whistled at jaina before rolling after him.

anakin scoffed as lyra said she assumed he would let his lightsaber fall apart, “i was gonna fix it eventually! master kenobi just…gave me a shove.” he grinned, his cheeks reddening as lyra kissed across his face. anakin caught her hand, pulling her close to him and kissing her as he moved his hand to her cheek. when they broke apart, he looked between her eyes and smiled. lyra brought such a calming presence anywhere she went. he felt it from her force. few jedi anakin had met were as inarguably good as lyra. the light seemed to radiate off of her. there was a reason his father had named her the savior of the jedi. “what do you recommend we do tomorrow? assuming we actually do get the chance to explore on our own.” anakin asked, knowing how jaina and garrick tended to drag lyra and anakin into whatever adventures they’d planned for themselves.

jaina smiled down at poe’s droid, “hello bb-8! i’m jaina.” she smiled, talking to the droid as if it were a person. (a skywalker family trait.) jaina stood upright as garrick came over, turning to face him with a soft smile. “hydrospanner? i’d like that back, commander dameron.” jaina smiled at him, nodding once, “sleep well commander.” she smiled, laughing as bb-8 whistled and followed poe away. jaina watched the pilot leave for a moment, before turning to face garrick, “he’s actually rather pleasant.” she commented before glancing around to ensure that they were really alone. “hope i didn’t keep you waiting long.” she teased, knotting her hands in his robes and pulling herself to his chest, “you seem tense. are you still upset with me from earlier?” jaina questioned, looking between garrick’s eyes curiously.

giddy as anakin held her, lyra continued to move her lips down his jaw to his neck. “i’d love to explore some of the planet, maybe we could get our hands on some speeders,” she breathed as she pushed a hand through his wavy hair. “alone time with you is always welcome,” she picked her head up to smirk at him, soft hazel eyes looking into his. he looked so handsome with the moonlight in his hair, across his face. “we can always sneak off,” she twisted the ends of his fingers in her hair, biting her lower lip as she smiled up at him. she loved the way he made her feel, loved the escape he offered her mind. 

poe glanced back at jaina with a smile before he left with the droid, heading back to the hanger. he couldn’t get the young jedi out of his mind, he wanted to know more about her. he’d have to catch her the following day when she was alone.

garrick looked down at jaina, his blue eyes skimming over her face once. he reached up and tucked a piece of caramel hair behind her ear. “i’m not upset, I just thought we had an understanding,” he placed a hand on her jaw, sliding it around into her hair. “no mind tricks,” garrick breathed, pulling her in for a kiss. he started slowly but quickly became intoxicated with her, deepening it. he needed to slow himself down and pulled back a step without letting go of her, leaving them both breathing heavily. “do you hear me, jaina?” he asked, his other hand sliding around her hip. “will you be good?” he asked breathily, pulling her closer to him.

anakin laughed softly, leaning his head into lyra’s hands, “i bet we could get that pilot that was all over you earlier too lend us a few.” he grinned, moving one of his hands to her hair and pulling her in. he kissed her hungrily, his fingers knotting in her brown hair as he pulled her waist against him. “we are pretty good at sneaking off.” anakin teased, running his thumb over lyra’s bottom lip after he spoke, “wish we had a place like the falcon we could escape to…think jaina’d ever let us borrow it?” he chuckled, longing for a space that he and lyra could be alone. a place with a door.

jaina licked across her bottom lip as garrick spoke. a grin came across her lips as he reminded her, no mind tricks. knotting one hand in his robes and the other in garrick’s hair, jaina pulled away panting, smirking as the jedi master pulled her to him, “master kenobi…not to be disrespectful,” she began, speaking lowly as she ran her hand down from his hair to his bearded cheek, “when have i ever been good?” with a smirk, jaina draped her arms around garrick’s neck, “and may i remind you, you were trying to break the agreement first.” she whispered, running a hand down his chest as she kissed him again.

lyra laughed and raised her brows, pressing her lips to his finger as he touched her. “the falcon’s her baby, she’ll never give it up,” she shook her head a bit, batting her lashes as she looked up at him. “you could just walk me back to my quarters?” she asked suggestively, dragging a hand down his chest and abdomen. “I don’t know d’qar very well, danger could be around any corner,” she leaned into him and nuzzled his neck, planting a kiss against his skin. “please, ani? I need you,” she said breathily, kissing below his ear. lyra grinned against his skin as she felt his energy shift, pulling him closer.

garrick shook his head a bit, smirking. “now, that’s where you’re wrong, young jedi,” he said softly, looking down at her. “I wasn’t entering your mind, just reaching for your energy,” he ran his hands down her sides and scooped under her butt, picking her up and backing her against a wall. “you on the other hand, you broke the rule, jaina,” he looked up at her darkly, holding her in place before him. “what’re we going to do with you?” his light eyes searched her, a playful expression on his face.

anakin melted as lyra whispered that she needed him. the young jedi gripped her waist, his fingers digging into her waist. “i don’t know,” anakin teased, leaning his head to her ear, “think you can keep quiet?” he breathed, tilting her head to his and kissing her again, anakin pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers, “wouldn’t want anyone to hear.” he grinned, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. god she drove him wild.

jaina smirked, trailing her fingers down garrick’s jawline, “reaching for my energy feels a lot like reaching into my brain, master.” she teased, tilting his head away so she could kiss his neck, “besides, there’s no need for you to be jealous of that pilot. he’s not in here with me.” she tilted garrick’s head to hers, licking across her bottom lip, “see?” she force projected the thoughts she’d been having about garrick when she collided with commander dameron. “why don’t you get out of those robes and we can…train.” the young jedi smirked, pulling garrick to her to kiss him again.

lyra kissed him again, biting down on his lower lip gently and tugging. she pulled back and looked at him with a wicked grin. “I can, but can you?” she murmured, pulling away from him and walking a few backwards steps towards her quarters. eyes filled with lust, she held a hand out for him, grinning when he followed suit and grasped it. every time he touched her she felt butterflies course through her, her stomach knotting. ani made her feel like she was floating amongst the stars.

garrick chuckled darkly as she shared her thoughts with him, his lips colliding with hers. he kissed her fiercely, his hands gripping her as he held her against the padded wall of the falcon. “you first,” he grinned, kissing her quickly before setting her down on her feet and letting the top layer of his robe fall to the floor. garrick pulled his tunic up over his head and discarded it, looking at her with a smirk as she disrobed. “it’s sinful to look like this,” he murmured, catching her chin with his finger and tilting her head up to his. “you’re the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.”

anakin grinned, tucking his lightsaber into it’s holster at his side as he stood up to his feet. he watched as she walked, moonlight radiating off of her hair. ‘i’m the luckiest man in the galaxy’ he thought as he grasped her outstretched hand. “we’ll have to see.” he teased in response to asking him if he could stay quiet. anakin kissed the top of her head as they headed towards lyra’s quarters. oh how he wished they could be like this all the time. together.

jaina watched garrick disrobe, biting into her bottom lip as she did. she unhooked the white cloak from her clothes, hesitating for a moment as she reached for the buttons of her top. jaina let her eyes rake over garrick again, reaching out and running her fingers down his now bare chest. jaina unbuttoned her top button, “don’t know why i still get so nervous.” she said softly after a moment, unbuttoning her shirt the rest of the way and letting it fall. the giant scar across her chest had been a source of insecurity since ben gave it to her. garrick made her feel like there was no scar at all. “you make me feel like i’m the only woman in the galaxy.” jaina said softly, resting a hand on garrick’s cheek and leaning up to kiss him forcefully.

lyra leaned into anakin’s warmth as they walked into the building leia had shown her, reveling in the vibrant, anticipatory silence between them. she could barely keep her hands off him once she pulled him inside, only pausing to firmly secure the door. “come here,” she breathed, tangling her fingers into his soft hair as she kissed him. while their secret trysts were thrilling beyond belief, lyra too wished she could parade him around the base, show off their bond, how proud she was to be with him. she let out a moan as she felt his breath, hot against her neck, followed by soft, sweet, needy kisses, and his palms sliding over her. she couldn’t get enough of anakin, his jaunty teasing or his longing gaze. 

garrick cupped her hips in his palms and slid his hands around her back, pulling her closer. he smiled as she spoke to him, kissing her back. he moved his lips down her jaw, followed the curve of her neck, and kissed over the long scar that ran across her chest before he slowly dropped to his knees, kissing her everywhere he could reach. “jaina, i’d do anything for you,” he murmured as his lips hit her hipbone, planting firm, soft kisses. the hold she had on him was like nothing he’d ever felt before, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to let her go.

anakin slid his hands under lyra’s robe, smirking at the soft moans she emitted as he did. “thought you said you could stay quiet.” anakin breathed in her ear, peppering kisses down her neck as he ran his hands down to cup her butt, and lift her, gently easing both of them onto the bed they’d prepared for her at the base. anakin awoke early the next morning, on his back, with lyra curled into his bare chest. the young skywalker smiled, raking his fingers through her hair and kissing her forehead gently. this stirred the sleeping jedi beside him. “hey, hey don’t get up.” anakin soothed softly, “i promised my father and garrick i’d meet them to meditate…” he whispered, looking down at lyra with a soft smile. the glow of the sunrise filled the room in oranges and pinks. anakin was wishing he hadn’t committed to the sunrise meditation with the elder jedi.

jaina knotted her hands in garrick’s hair, smiling softly as he confessed he would do anything for her. the young solo girl smiled, stroking his hair back off his head, “i know.” the next morning, jaina awoke first. the two had fallen asleep in her bed on the falcon, enjoying the bliss that was ignorance as they pretended they had no responsibility but one another. jaina was redressing when garrick awoke, “good morning, master.” jaina teased as she pulled on her shirt, “how’d you sleep?” she asked, crossing over to him and kissing him softly, “i know i just asked how you slept but, i saw jacen again last night.” jaina continued, obviously a bit anxioous, “he said to watch out for ben.” jaina looked between garrick’s eyes as she spoke, “garrick what does that mean? i felt ben leave the force long ago…” she whispered, moving a hand to the scar across her chest.

lyra blinked sleepily up at anakin, the feeling of his hands in her hair bringing her back to him from the depths of sleep. “ani, just a few more minutes?” she said softly, her breath across his bare chest. she clung onto him just a bit tighter, snuggling her face into him. they only had a handful of moments like this every day, if that, and she wanted to savor it. she knew he had to go, but she liked the way it felt to wake up and feel him holding her. 

garrick stirred, more awake when he became acutely aware that jaina was no longer beside him. he sat up when she greeted him, scratching his beard and swinging his legs around to stand up and stretch. “morning, j,” he smiled softly and kissed her back, pecking her forehead as she pulled away. garrick sought out his discarded clothes and looked over at her curiously as she brought up her fallen brother. he usually watched over her, this couldn’t have been anything different. his brows furrowed. “i’m not sure, I did too,” he remembered that day like nothing else, so many jedi were ripped from them. he’d never forget it. garrick pulled his trousers on and beckoned her closer, wrapping his arms around her. “we’ll figure it out, alright?” he said softly. garrick pressed his lips to her hair, kissing her softly. “you’re not alone in this.” this puzzled him greatly, if ben was somehow still around… no, he couldn’t be.

anakin smiled softly, looking down at lyra in the morning glow as she clutched onto him. “you know i’d give both suns on tattooine to stay here in bed with you.” he whispered softly, planting another soft kiss on the sleeping jedi’s forehead. “you know how my dad and garrick are. i’ll show up one minute late and they’ll already have been there for twenty-four.” he sighed, having a habit of being ritually late wasn’t great for a jedi. “i’ll come back tonight…something tells me jaina won’t be spending any time sleeping here.” he nudged over to the still empty cot beside them.

jaina wasn’t put at ease with garrick’s response. she chewed her bottom lip, but nodded her head as he kissed her hair, then her lips, “yeah…we’ll figure it out.” she repeated unconvinced. “you meeting my uncle?” jaina asked as turned to the mirror, braiding her hair. “don’t mention the dreams to him, he doesn’t need any more to worry about.” she sighed softly, moving a hand to her chest again as she felt the scar ache. seeing jacen usually brought such comfort. why’d his last message terrify her like this? “i’ll be working on the ship, maybe i’ll drag lyra to go meditate like you do later.” she teased as she pinned her hair, then walked over to ruffle garrick’s.

lyra smiled sleepily up at him and pulled the blankets close, getting colder without him snuggled next to her. “you’re probably right,” she said softly with a laugh, following his gaze to her cot. she was probably off with anakin’s master, “training.” lyra smirked at the thought. “i’ll see you later, then?” she asked as she watched him get ready to go, realizing they probably wouldn’t be this close again all day. “i’d really like to explore today, but if you can’t get away from master kenobi, I understand,” she tried to mask the disappointment in her voice but gave herself away when she looked down at her hands, worrying the fabric of the comforter with one of her thumbs.

garrick looked down at her with a puzzled expression as she pulled away, feeling unease rolling off of her in waves. “are you sure, jaina?” he asked, resting a hand on her hip gently. “maybe he knows what this means, maybe he could help,” his voice was gentle, earnest. blue eyes were stuck on her face, trying to read her. “that isn’t the worst plan,” he said softly, smoothing his blonde hair after she tousled it. “meditate on jacen, maybe he can give you more answers. with lyra the two of you can probably reach him,” garrick leaned down and kissed her. “i’ve got to go so I won’t be late,” he said softly, kissing her forehead once. garrick started off the ship, looking back at her over his shoulder. “i’ll see you later!”

anakin nodded his head, “i’ll definitely see you later.” he smiled as he pulled on his pants, leaning over to lyra and kissing her softly. anakin then picked his shirt off the ground, pulling it back on as he caught the brunette fidgeting with the comforter. anakin could sense her disappointment. “i’ll get away from master kenobi, don’t you worry.” he smiled as he sat back on lyra’s bed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead, “jaina owes me one anyways.” he joked, caressing lyra’s cheek gently for a moment as he looked between her eyes, “stars, you’re absolutely the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.” anakin smiled softly, taking her face in her hands and kissing her again, “i’ll see you in an hour - swear it.” he smiled back at her before ducking out of the room.

jaina shook her head, “uncle luke doesn’t need to know about this. i don’t even know what it means. maybe it was just a bad dream…” she tried to ease her conscious, but was still nervously chewing on her bottom lip. lyra would be the best person to talk to it about. she was with jaina when her brothers perished. and she’d always been much better at meditation than jaina was. “i’d tell you to tell my uncle and cousin i said hello but….” she teased, catching his hand and pulling him back to her before he could leave. jaina kissed garrick passionately before slowly letting him be on his way. she grinned at the dazed look she left on his face, “see you later, master.” she called after him, grinning as she watched him go. teased as garrick’s cheeks turned pink and he headed off of the ship. jaina grinned to herself, waiting a moment as to not arouse suspicion, before she too exited the ship. she inhaled deeply, taking a sip of the coffee she had made on the falcon and watching as the sun rose. as the world turned pink and orange around her, she found herself smiling as she spotted commander dameron out for an early morning run with some of the other pilots. (his brother included.)

lyra grinned as her cheeks flushed pink, her hazel eyes not leaving him until he left. she leaned back against the pillows with a smile on her face. she was only this giddy around anakin, all smiles and blushed cheeks. a few moments passed before she figured she may as well get up too. the dark haired girl got herself ready for the day, dressing before standing in front of her mirror to tie her hair back into her usual triple buns. an odd feeling crept along the back of her neck as she finished, and in her periphery she thought she saw a tall, dark figure. in a flash of movement, she grasped her lightsaber and turned it on, spinning around, but no one was there. lyra huffed and turned her lightsaber off. she spent a few minutes looking around the room, under the cots and in every corner before settling on the fact that no one was there. she hadn’t felt anyone, but she could’ve sworn she’d seen someone. unsettled, she checked the room once more before heading out, double checking the door was locked behind her.

poe jogged alongside cassian and a few others, all of them in uniform exercise wear. they slowed down closer to the ships, coming to a rest beside the row of x-wings they all flew. as the group stretched, cas spotted jaina watching them and glanced back at the group. “early mynock gets the worm,” he said with a grin, earning a chuckle from two of the guys, and a sigh from his brother. “morning, princess!” cas called out to jaina. “like whatcha see?” he grinned at her. poe shook his head with an embarrassed smile, rubbing a hand over his face once before waving at jaina, catching her eye.

garrick headed out to meet luke and anakin, clearing his mind as he went. the last thing he needed was for a thought of jaina to creep in during a meditation. he arrived before his padawan, but that was far from unusual. they’d just have to wait for anakin to arrive. he greeted luke, the two men sharing smiles and chatting idly about the weather on d’qar, the trees, how their padawans were doing with their training. knighted or not, lyra, anakin, and jaina would always look to garrick, luke, and mara for guidance.

jaina cracked a smirk as cas called out to her, laughing as he asked if she liked the view. jaina waved at the men, taking a sip of her coffee with a smirk and calling back, “no!” before turning around to watch the sunrise. she could hear the commander laughing, and called back over her shoulder, “and i want that hydrospanner back!” she shot him a glance, turning her back to him again as she saw lyra approaching, “morning sunbeam!” jaina smiled at her friend, “you come by to get your hands dirty?” she teased, taking another sip of coffee, “made coffee on the ship if you want a cup. pilots are out for another run. your admirer is in rare form already.” jaina laughed with a roll of her eyes.

anakin ran up on garrick and luke. of course he was still late. “ah….shoot.” he muttered, looking between the two, “sorry i’m late…just….overslept.” he smiled innocently as he looked between the two jedi masters, “how’d you sleep?” anakin asked his father and garrick, “it was weird not sleeping in a ship after traveling for so long with garrick, jaina and lyra.” anakin admitted with a laugh, “forgot how much room there is outside of a ship.” anakin stretched his arms over his head, shooting garrick a smirk. if anakin couldn’t fully clear his mind, he at least could distract one of the masters away from asking any questions about what really kept him late.

the guys ragged on cas, who only smirked, his eyes not leaving the jedi. at the mention of the hydrospanner, poe’s head lulled back with a laugh. he turned away from the men and headed over to his ship, climbing up to grab the tool. 

lyra left her quarters and headed towards the falcon where she knew she’d find her partner in crime. she strode across the paved ship yard, strips of her cloth tunic billowing behind her. she smiled at her friend devilishly, approaching her gracefully. “my darling,” she called to jaina, her voice lilting over the word. “coffee would be lovely,” she beamed, reaching for jaina’s hand and squeezing gently. she looked over at cas and rolled her eyes. she caught sight of poe jogging towards them. lyra tapped jaina’s arm with a laugh, glancing to the young woman beside her. “seems as though yours has quite the pep in his step this morning.”

“master solo,” poe grinned as he ran up to the girls with the hydrospanner in his hand. “good morning, master galora,” he nodded to the other girl, his eyes quick to jump back to jaina’s lovely face.

lyra glanced between poe and jaina with a smirk, not bothering to correct poe. it was flattering, really, and the way he looked at jaina made lyra feel as though she were intruding. she ducked around them and headed up onto the ship to pour some of the coffee jaina had promised.

garrick turned and looked at anakin, brows knitting together. luke, too, looked at his son, puzzled. “it’s alright, ani, let’s just… let’s begin,” luke said gently, settling down to meditate. garrick nudged ankain with his elbow as they followed luke to settle in, whispering under his breath, “say ship one more time,” the bearded man sat down beside luke.

jaina smiled at lyra, squeezing her friends hand as she took it. “my admirer?!” she scoffed incredulously. but garrick wasn’t here. jaina turned, her eyes meeting poe as he approached, and she again found herself grinning. “this ones at least tolerable.” she teased softly, squeezing lyra’s hand again as poe came up and greeted the women hello. “morning commander.” jaina smiled politely as lyra headed onto the ship, unable to stop herself from noticing how fit poe was as she extended her hand for the hydrospanner. “your brothers quite the character. he any good of a pilot?” jaina questioned, sipping her coffee with her other hand. maybe she could knock his ego down a little bit. a friendly TIE fighter race never hurt anybody.

anakin smirked softly at garrick scolding him. one of the weird perks of his cousin sleeping with master kenobi was that anakin had access to all the best forms of blackmail. “i can’t wait to meditate on solid ground. don’t you agree, master, hasn’t meditating on the ship been so…cramped?” anakin smiled sweetly up at at his less than pleased jedi master. still grinning, anakin sat beside his father, crossing his legs and closing his eyes as he prepared to meditate. he could feel garrick glaring daggers at him, and that just made anakin smirk wider.

poe stood before jaina with sweat dripping from his curls in his uniform t-shirt and jogger pants. he absentmindedly ran his tongue over his lower lip as he smiled at jaina, looking over to cas with a chuckle. “he’s a complete and utter ass,” he said, shaking his head. he looked back to jaina, grinning. “you’d run him into the dust, princess,” poe wanted nothing more than to see her race cassian, maybe it would shut him up about being the fastest at the base. “hey, cas!” he waved his brother over, and the boy brightened, jogging over.

“hey, gorgeous,” cassian smirked at jaina, running a hand through his dark hair. “you needed me?”

garrick breathed deeply, trying to clear his mind. “should be easy for you to focus, my young padawan, you spend so much of your time meditating alone with lyra i’m surprised you’re not already deep within it,” he said softly, glancing over at anakin with a smirk.

“both of you, be quiet and clear your minds,” luke huffed and opened his eyes, looking at both of them.

“my apologies for my padawan’s behavior, master skywalker,” garrick bowed his head and exhaled slowly, clearing his mind.

jaina’s smirk widened as commander dameron confirmed her suspicions. the brunette finished her coffee as cas approached. jaina feigned sweetness, looking up at cas, “your brother was just telling me what a fantastic pilot you were.” she lied cooly, gesturing to poe before looking back at cas, her sweet smile hiding her cocky smirk. “i thought it might be interesting to challenge you to a bit of a race.” jaina suggested, her eyes meeting lyra’s as she appeared on the bridge. “what’dya say? fire up some TIE fighters? i could learn something from a big strong pilot like you.” she added for extra effect, batting her lashes at the cocky young pilot. she knew her reputation preceded her, but ever her father’s daughter, the con was part of the fun.

anakin looked at garrick, raising his brows as if to say ‘do you reaaaaally want to go there?’ before tuning to face forward, “sorry father.” then, without turning, anakin force projected to his master, “shall i mention your extended training with my cousin?”

luke let out another sigh, sensing the conflict between the boys. “you two bicker like brothers.” the eldest jedi sighed, glancing to garrick and anakin on either side of him. “if i had wanted this much chatter i’d have brought my sister along.” luke shook his head, “now quiet your minds. i really don’t want to know what it is that i’m missing here.” he shook his head again, then closed his eyes.

cas placed a hand on his chest, feigning shock. “me? big and strong?”

poe laughed, shaking his head. “you’re feeding his ego, master solo,” he looked between them with a chuckle. this was too good.

lyra came down the ramp, a steaming mug of coffee between her palms. “what’s all this about a race?” she asked as she approached, catching jaina’s words. she raised her brows as cassian turned towards her with a grin.

“master galora! can I count on your support?” cas looked at the dark haired girl with a grin. she laughed and draped an arm around jaina’s shoulders.

“the only pilot I support is this one,” she tipped her head against jaina’s with a smirk. “sorry, caspian.”

“it… it’s cassian,” the boy corrected her, looking between the girls.

“yeah, sure,” lyra ¯shrugged and sipped her coffee. poe stifled a laugh.

garrick pushed back into anakin’s head, ‘enough,’ with an agitation that would surely cease his padawan’s intrusions, growing frustrated. he force projected a shield around his mind to keep anakin out for the time being.

jaina smiled sweetly, feeding off of lyra and poe’s energy. she could feel cas’s ego radiating off of him. this is too easy. she thought as she draped an arm around lyra’s shoulders. jaina kissed her friends temple, before leading the group over to examine the TIE fighters. “been a while since i flew one of these!” jaina called back to the others. she shot lyra a grin as she crossed her arms over her chest, “well then,” she turned to face poe, unable to stop her eyes from raking over him. maybe in an attempt to torment his brother even more. “as, presumably mthe highest ranking pilot on this base, i think it’s only fair that you decide the terms of the race, commander?” she suggested. jaina found herself saying commander similar to how she referred to garrick as master. she pushed that thought from her mind, but smirked between the brothers anyways. this would be a great distraction from her nightmares of the night before.

lyra watched in amusement, a smile on her face as she watched jaina play the boy like a lute. she sipped her coffee, watching gleefully.

“I suppose that’s fair,” poe agreed with jaina, his eyes not leaving her as he grinned in her direction. “let’s see…” he tore his gaze away from the beautiful jedi to gaze at the ships. “you’ll race from here, down and around the ridge, into the valley and back. no cheating, jade and i’ll follow above in the x-wings to make sure it’s fair,” he nodded towards one of the pilots in their running group, a lanky dirty blonde with thick brows and a smirk. she waved to them once with two fingers.

lyra stood beside jaina, looking over at her friend. “what do you want if you win?” she asked with a smirk.

“when I win, i’d like the falcon,” cassian stated boldly. the group paused, and jaina was the first to laugh followed by everyone else.

“that’s not happening, cas,” poe clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder once. “whoever wins is the better pilot.”

jaina nearly peed herself laughing at cassian’s bold request of the falcon. she hunched over, her sides aching, and in the absolute most dismissive tone said “sure. sure if you beat me you can have the falcon.” jaina laughed again, wiping the tears from her eyes. “and when i win, i’d love it if you learned to respect women.” jaina beamed as she brushed between the dameron brothers. she glanced over to lyra, and the woman poe had introduced as jade to scoff, “men.” she shook her head, laughing again. as she boarded the TIE fighter. “hope you’ll take it easy on me! since you know the planet and ship and everything!” she called over her shoulder, unable to stop herself from shooting poe and lyra a wink, as the two had found themselves standing next to one another as they railed on cassian. once jaina had boarded her ship, most of the pilots started whispering to one another. they had all heard of jaina solo, could cas really beat her? the other half scoffing that this was jaina freaking solo. current captain of the millenium falcon! no way cas would outrun her. jaina powered up her fighter, “fumbling” with the controls inside to seem even more inept. she was loving this.

through all the laughing, cas frowned a bit. “then it’s a deal, princess,” he slunk into one of the tie fighters, turning the engine on and getting it lined up with jaina’s. he licked his lips and glanced at her sideways, grinning at her. this is too easy, he thought. 

“bunch of womp rats, they are,” jade grinned at jaina’s mention of men. “’specially that one,” she nodded her head in the direction of cassian, blonde ponytail swinging behind her. she winked at jaina and headed over to her ship to get in and get the engines running. poe followed suit to black-one and got it ready to go. 

lyra’s eyes crinkled at the edges as she laughed, a permanent grin on her face as she watched jaina climb aboard. she blew her a kiss for luck. she walked over to where cas and jaina’s ships sat side by side. with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, she took one of the tails of her tunic in the other, holding it up like a flag. jade and poe rose in the x-wings to surveil the race, jade flying slightly ahead. “oh your marks,” lyra called, knowing full well they couldn’t hear her but enjoying the dramatic effect. “get set, go!” she dropped her tunic and the fabric fluttered down, whooshing around her legs as the tie-fighters fired off. the rush of heat from the engines coursed over her, leaving her with goosebumps as she watched jaina crush cassian.

the minute lyra waved her tunic, jaina had virtually disappeared. she expertly waved down and around the ridge, flipping the fighter as she did for extra flair. dipping into the valley sideways, she increased her speed, grinning wider as she did. she couldn’t see cas anywhere near her, and she laughed out loud as she returned. the young pilots who’d stopped their morning routines to watch all now stared in awe as jaina not only landed the fighter, but had time to walk over to the falcon, grab another cup of coffee, and was down and leaning against the falcon. (it is worth mentioning that she did use her force speed on the ship to assist in making her impressive feat even more impressive.) by the time cas was landing his ship, jaina was cooly sipping her coffee.

the three jedi meditating were interrupted by two TIE fighters racing over them as they sat near the ridge. all three men let out a sigh, followed by an in unison, “jaina.” luke didn’t open his eyes, “she’s racing the cocky one from the hanger yesterday. i’m actually rather excited to hear the story behind this.” the elder jedi chuckled, sensing jaina’s pure joy as she sped past them. “her mother will scold her for waking up the camp anyways.”

cassian cursed as jaina passed him, pounding a fist into the metallic dash of the tie-fighter. she couldn’t have bested him this easily, it wasn’t fair! he knew he was a better pilot, she had to have cheated somehow. cassian landed and climbed out, leaving the ship with the hatch wide open as he strode over to jaina. “dammit, you cheated, didn’t you?” he jabbed a finger at jaina, his brows knitting together. lyra held a hand up from where she stood beside jaina, force-stopping cas in his tracks.

“jaina’s a lot of things, but she isn’t a cheat. she is, however, a jedi knight and galactic royalty, so if I were you i’d think about what you’re about to say next,” lyra stated rather calmly before she released her hold on him. 

poe had landed and was now jogging over, hands raised defensively. “hey, wooah, that was fair and square!” he was met with a disapproving scowl from cassian.

jade took her helmet off, holding it on her hip as she walked over. “holy kriff, jaina, you’ve gotta teach me that,” she said with a wide grin on her face, regarding the girl as if they’d known each other for years.

“best pilot in the galaxy,” lyra looked over at jaina, beaming with pride for her friend.

garrick cracked a wide smile as he too felt jaina’s exuberance. it warmed his soul and his cheeks. “she’s winning,” he murmured, not surprised, but still happy for her. he loved to share her joy. and he had to agree with luke, the story behind this would be one for the books.

jaina sipped her coffee calmly as cas charged at her. she let out a laugh at his accusation that she had cheated. the brunette took another sip of coffee as lyra interjected, and once she’d released cas from her hold. jaina chuckled, “you know what no, he’s right. i did cheat.” jaina, ever the asshole, began, “i should have gone with my eyes closed. that would have evened the playing fields.” jaina explained, looking between lyra, jade, and poe before meeting cas’s eye again, “come on, let’s go again. i’ll close my eyes this time so maybe you’ll have a chance to win.” the young pilot taunted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“haven’t you proved yourself, already?” the voice of han solo interrupted the brewing pilot feud. the expert pilot walked over, looking between jaina and cassian confusedly. “you didn’t really think you’d beat her, didya? she’s been flying with me since she was born.” han scoffed, turning to face jaina and lyra, “your mother’s upset ‘cause your race woke up half the base. she sent me to yell at ya.” han explained, looking between the girls, “you got coffee up there?” he asked, uninterested in scolding his daughter’s antics. it wasn’t the first, or last, time jaina would prove her skills like this. han found it easier not to argue. he brushed past the girls to go and pour himself a cup of coffee, reveling in the feeling the falcon still brought him.

jaina smirked at her father walked onto the ship, hardly scolding her, before turning back to lyra, “you always say the sweetest things.” she grinned, brushing by cas to talk to jade, “you were pretty great with that x-wing. you’re jade?” she asked, offering the blonde pilot her hand, glancing over to poe, “i like this one.”

cas’s jaw dropped and he gestured at her. “seriously? now you’re just rubbing it in,” he scoffed. cassian froze as han approached them, his eyes widening. he’d always idolized han solo, so much so that he thought he could fly better than han’s own daughter (the logic just isn’t there). he looked between jaina and poe before shaking his head at his brother and walking off, frustrated. a few of the other pilots followed him, patting him on the back and chatting with him. 

lyra lowed her chin a hair as jaina spoke, a smile on her face. she narrowed her gaze and smirked as han scared cassian away, turning her body towards her friend. “should I go talk to leia?” she asked, raising her brows. she felt guilty for egging jaina on if they’d woken up everyone at the base over this. 

poe let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding as han walked by. he’d never get used to that, seeing these legendary heros on the daily. 

jade nodded to jaina’s question, gripping her hand securely with slender fingers. “pleasure, jedi,” she smirked, ice blue eyes flitting over jaina’s face. “if you stick around long enough i’d love to take you up in it, i’d modded the engine out, it’s way faster than flyboy’s,” she grinned, pointing her thumb over at poe who chuckled and shook his head.

“it’s faster, yeah, but I handle mine a lot smoother than you do,” poe gave jade a look. she scoffed and shook her head.

“i’ve fixed yours more times than I can count, so really, dameron, speak for yourself,” jade shot poe a glare and looked back to jaina, looking between her eyes. “are you settling in to d’qar alright?”

jaina looked to lyra, shrugging her shoulders once, “dunno, i mean. she sent my dad to scold us. so…she’s not that mad.” she rationalized, raising her brows as jade referred to poe as ‘flyboy’. “well i’d love to fly with each of you and find out who’s ship i prefer.” jaina smirked, only slightly flirting with both pilots, loving the way that they both looked at her. “d’qar is nice! i haven’t gotten to see too much of it before that race, to be honest.” she laughed, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she looked over to poe again. she was finding it hard to look away from him.

“you’ve made some upgrades! i like the new chair.” han commented as he walked off of the falcon, shooting his daughter a grin. “you’ve taken good care of her j. you too lyra.” han smiled proudly, clapping a hand on lyra’s shoulder. “i’m sure you’ve been the rational one of the two.” han teased as he looked down at the other girl whom he considered a daughter. “maybe we should take her for a spin.” han suggested, smirking as he took a sip of his coffee.

a similar smirk crept across his daughters face, “that’s an idea…” she turned to poe and jade, “what better way to see d’qar than from the falcon?” she proposed, looking over to lyra with a smile. “you ladies in?” she asked her friend before looking back to jade, jaina’s face eager. jade nodded eagerly and as lyra thought it over for a moment, jaina turned to poe, “what’d’ya say, flyboy?”

poe ran his tongue over his lower lip absentmindedly as he looked at jaina, his smile not leaving. seeing her whip that tie-fighter through the air had greatly impressed him, it was truly incredible to see her in action. she peaked his curiosity further, if that were possible. he wanted to learn more, further understand her, know her. an invitation onto the falcon widened his smile. 

lyra laughed and looked up at han, her hazel eyes shining in the morning suns. han was such a huge part of her upbringing, just as luke and leia had been. she had a lot of love in her heart for the solos. “she’s got my back just as much as i’ve got hers,” she nodded to jaina with a smile.

jade looked at poe with wide eyes as jaina suggested they fly in the falcon. was she serious?! this felt like a dream. “that would be amazing!”

poe nodded in agreement, biting down on his lower lip as he looked over at jaina. “it’d be an honor, princess,” he grinned at the young jedi, excited at the prospect of flying in this legendary ship.

jaina grinned as poe and jade agreed. she turned back to face her closest friend, “lyra come on! it’ll be fun! it’s been so long since we flew the falcon with my dad.” she smiled, leaning against han as the two of them looked at lyra with sweet smiles. 

“i’ll talk to leia when we get back. tell her it was all my idea.” han offered, to which jaina raised her brow,

“well, dad, i mean. it was your idea.” jaina pointed out, looking up at her dad with a raised brow. han scoffed, sipping his coffee,

“i know that! i just was sayin’ if your mom gets angry about it i’ll handle it.” he gestured to himself before heading onto the ship. “come on! lyra you too!” he called out, waving the young pilots and jedi onto the ship. jaina laughed, linking her arm through her friends,

“c’mon doll-face. let’s go exploring.” jaina beamed as she looked at her friend. she gestured for poe and jade to board the ship before them. “your brother’s going to hate this.” jaina grinned at poe as he passed her, “first you let jaina solo destroy him in a race, now you’re coming up with her in the falcon.” she teased the older man as her and lyra headed onto the ship, pulling up the loading dock once they were inside. “this would be a great distraction from jacen.” jaina thought to herself, a little louder than she intended since lyra whipped around to look at her curiously. jaina smiled innocently, heading towards the cockpit.

han had made himself comfortable in the pilots seat, and jaina pursed her lips and exchanged a glance with lyra who couldn’t stop giggling at the sight. jaina sighed, “fine. fine!” she sat in the co-pilots seat, looking at her father with furrowed brows. before she could say anything, han was holding up a hand,

“this was my ship long before you were born j. i’m gonna pilot her.” he grinned at his daughter. “you make a great co-pilot anyways.” han added, setting his coffee in a cup holder as jaina clenched her jaw in the co-pilots chair. she knew better than to argue with han over this. but she wanted to be the center of attention. especially with poe and jade aboard. “there’s some coffee in the pot over there if either of you want. once we’re up i’ll give you the tour, jade. flyboy got it last night.” she grinned at poe. han raised a brow, hearing poe call jaina princess and now hearing his daughters response. it seemed too familiar. it reminded him of him and leia. and that thought made him whip his head around to look at poe, before looking back at jaina who still hadn’t stopped looking at the pilot. “oh brother.” he muttered under his breath as the falcon lifted off.

lyra grinned and held jaina’s arm, the girls following han and the resistance pilots onto the ship. she loved being aboard, the ship was a second home. the energy jaina gave off when she was aboard was so comforting. lyra adored jaina, she’d do anything for her, and when jaina was in her element, so was lyra. the girls often fed off each other in that way, sharing moods as much as they shared power. catching jaina’s thoughts of jacen as lyra headed into the cockpit, she whipped her head around, stunned by the suddenness of it. jacen? what was this about? she leaned against the wall, eyes on jaina as her friend passed her to get into the cockpit and settle in the copilot’s seat. “come on, i’ll get you so coffee,” lyra looked at jaina for another second before gesturing for jade and poe to follow her to the galley kitchen on the ship.

“I can’t believe we’re on the millenium falcon,” jade said with a grin, running a hand down a padded wall as she looked around. she was amazed by everything around her and was trying to take it all in, blue eyes wide. 

it took poe a moment to follow lyra and jade because he was still eyeing jaina from where he stood. when han caught him looking, poe turned away, cheeks flushed a tint of pink. he walked over to the girls in the kitchen, taking a steaming mug of black coffee from lyra.

“everything alright, commander?” the dark haired jedi asked poe, eyeing him curiously. he nodded his curly haired head.

“yeah, definitely!” he smiled softly over the steaming coffee. jade scoffed out a laugh, grinning as she leaned back against the counter.

“he’s fine, he’s just a bit smitten with jaina solo,” jade teased, elbowing poe in the ribs. he rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, the color returning to his cheeks. lyra raised her brows with a laugh.

“get in line, commander,” she shook her head, laughing again. 

“y’know your mother likes that commander dameron, kid.” han nodded his head towards the galley. jaina raised her brows, looking at her father confused, “he’s a real strong pilot too. it’s him you shoulda been racing. brothers kinda dim.” han muttered under his breath, earning a snicker from his daughter as jaina sat back in the co pilots seat. she loved the falcon. the only thing she possibly loved more, was flying the falcon with her father. it had been a long time since father and daughter solos were piloting her. the nostalgia brought her back to jacen again. remembering how han took her and her brothers up in the falcon despite all of leia’s protests. jacen was so young. he was so young. jaina felt her panic rising, and han must have sensed it as well. he looked at his daughter with concern, but she shut herself off from the force quickly, shaking her head.

“it’s a beautiful planet.” jaina commented as jade, lyra and poe came back into the cockpit. “you all have built a strong rebel base.” she commented, looking back to jade and poe again. noticing his cheeks had a vague pinkness to them. jaina offered him a smile before facing forward again. “if i had to choose a planet to stay on, i’m glad it’s this one.” she added. the falcon had become, what she considered, her real home. she had so many fond memories in it and being in control of it made her feel unstoppable. even as she watched her father from the co-pilots seat, the feeling of the falcon would always be home.

“you been co-piloting?” han asked lyra, “or has anakin taken it over?” he questioned, knowing his nephews desire to fly the falcon as jaina did. anakin too was a strong pilot. that trait ran deep in the skywalker family tree. jaina, han thought, had the edge. luke could pilot a ship but han. han could fly anything. jaina had that same disposition about her, and han always felt close to her because of it. han raised the ship just into the rotational pull around the planet. far enough from the ground as to not annoy leia any further, while still giving the jedi a tour of the planet. “where is anakin anyways? did luke and garrick rope him into their ‘sunrise meditation’?”

poe smiled softly at jaina, glancing at han as the falcon’s old pilot flew with ease. it was so surreal to be here with them. he looked out at the planet as the flew. the view never got old, and jaina was right, it was easy to get settled here. rolling green hills, deep lakes, thick forest, the planet was a misty dreamworld. “it’s my favorite of all the rebel bases,” poe said, leaning against the doorway to the cockpit. he sipped his coffee with a smile on his face.

lyra stepped up behind jaina, leaning forward against the back of her friend’s chair. “anakin’s certainly tried,” she said with a light laugh, smiling over at han. “mostly it’s me in this seat,” she reached forward and gently played with jaina’s dark hair, tucking a piece back into her braid. at the mention of the sunrise meditation lyra nodded, glancing outside at the planet as the flew. “yes, he begrudgingly obliged and woke up at the crack of dawn, he was probably late but what else is new,” she said softly without thinking, her eyes grazing over the lush green and glittering blue landscape they were flying over.

jaina raised a brow as lyra spoke of anakin, and the dark haired girl turned to face her fellow brunette, “and how are you aware of how anakin woke up?” she teased her friend, batting her lashes sweetly, laughing as she watched her friends cheeks turn pink before turning to face forward, “anakin’s never been on time for anything in his life. it drives master kenobi insane.” jaina laughed, recalling how her and garrick had started seeing one another, and how it stemmed from a lesson anakin was supposed to sit in on.

“i’ll never understand the meditation.” han shook his head, blowing past the girls snickering. “your uncle luke’s always telling me to try it but i can’t sit still for that long.” han shook his head, messing around with the settings on the falcon (to jaina’s discontent).

jaina shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head back so lyra could continue to fix her hair, “it’s a practice.” jaina looked to her father, “lyra’s far better at it than i am.” she added with a laugh, looking over the planet below them, “maybe i’ll come over here later and try some meditation.” jaina commented, gesturing towards one of the lakes. she looked back at poe, her eyes curiously flitting over his face, “you’ve been here a while, right? maybe you can show me around later.”

lyra glanced down at jaina, her eyes widening a bit. she tugged jaina’s braid gently, tilting the other girl’s head back to give her a look. the two laughed and lyra released her, smoothing her hand over the dark braid falling over jaina’s shoulder. “his timing is truly horrible,” she said with a laugh. “can’t quite blame garrick for that,” she shrugged. lyra followed jaina’s gaze out onto the landscape and nodded in agreement, it would be amazing to be out here in the middle of nature, in particular, the connection to the force was incredibly strong here.

poe met jaina’s eye and he smiled hopefully, nodding. “it’d be an honor, princess. i’ll show you my favorite places,” he smiled warmly, curious dark eyes on jaina’s face. she looked spectacular in a cockpit, her presence was commanding even when she was in the copilot’s seat. “how much time do you have today?” he asked her, leaning into the doorframe he stood in. he rubbed his hand over the scruff on his face, smiling over at jaina as they spoke. 

jaina looked back at poe, a genuine smile crossing her lips, “i’d enjoy that, commander.” she smiled, reaching back and grasping lyra’s hand, “you’re gonna laugh but, i was hoping that i could steal you for an hour and copy master kenobi and anakin and meditate a bit.” jaina said with a smile, jacen’s warning coming back to her loudly. she inhaled, squeezing lyra’s hand gently. “other than that, i’ve got nothing.” jaina laughed softly, turning back to poe as she held on to her friends hand.

“well, we’re coming back up on the base…” han commented as he slowly began lowering the ship back to the ground. a quick trip around the planets rotational pull wouldn’t piss leia off much more than she was when han left. what he should have expected though, was to be greeted by luke, leia and garrick. followed closely by anakin.

“really, han?” leia watched as her husband, daughter, basically-daughter, commander and pilot deboarded the aircraft. han couldn’t help but crack a grin.

“oh come on, we could have done worse.” han teased as he kissed his wife’s forehead. anakin, from behind the elders, couldn’t help but smirk. he forced himself to keep his eyes off of lyra. after garrick’s jab earlier, the last thing he wanted was to draw more attention to them.

“luke, garrick and i have some negotiations to attend to. can the two of you please behave yourselves?” leia looked to han and jaina, both of whom scoffed at the thought that they’d be anything but behaved. “you especially, j.” leia narrowed her eyes at her daughter who scoffed again, looking to garrick who could only offer her a thin smile. jaina let out a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. she hated this part of their relationship. the secretiveness, the fact that he often had to side with her parents. garrick was many things but reckless wasn’t one of them.

“yeah, i’ll behave.” she muttered. leia sighed, kissing her daughters forehead before she led luke and garrick away. once they’d left, han turned to jaina and lyra,

“later let’s take her up a bit further.” han grinned as he gestured to the falcon, before saying bye to the girls and heading off to his plans for the day.

jaina watched her father go, scoffing again as she turned to lyra, “can you believe them? me? misbehave?!” jaina shook her head as anakin jogged up,

“yeah can you believe they warned the girl who got into a tie-fighter racer less than 24 hours after arriving on the planet to behave?!” anakin teased, his fingers brushing up against lyra’s as he arrived at her side.

jaina scoffed at her cousin, “good morning to you too ani.” she shook her head, looking over to Poe and jade, “if we take her up again later you’re both welcome to join us.” she offered with a smile.

“morning j.” anakin laughed, before looking down to meet lyras eye, "morning.” the older teen smiled down at the brunette, his eyes flitting over lyras face how’d she look even more ethereal now than she did when they woke up? now that garrick, leia and luke were off doing their diplomatic duties, he and lyra finally had some time to be alone. “got any plans today, galora?” he teased, hardly noticing poe, jade, or even jaina, now that he was beside lyra. “seems like with master kenobi occupied, I’ve got a clear schedule.”

garrick tried to keep his eyes off jaina as he stood beside her mother and uncle, glancing instead between her and the commander. jealousy stung him, not at all fond of the way the pilot looked at jaina, his jaina. many people eyed her that way and it never sat right with garrick. she wasn’t an object, she was the smartest person in the room at all times.

poe greeted the jedi as they approached, a smile on his face. he very politely bowed at the waist when leia smiled to him, earning him some points with the general. “don’t work too hard, general organa,” poe received a soft smile from leia.

“i’ll try not to, commander,” she patted him on the arm as she walked off with garrick, luke, and han. 

poe turned back to jaina, meeting her eye. “there’s a waterfall not too far from here, it’s so huge you can barely see the top from the ground. it’s one of my favorite places to go to when I need some time alone, and it’s breathtaking. i’d love to show you, if you still want to see the planet from the ground,” the dark haired pilot grinned to jaina. “whaddya say, princess? I can get a coupla speeders from the base,” he suggested, standing before her with one hand in his pocket. he’d take her on his, but he figured she’d prefer to ride on her own. the thought of her sitting behind him with her arms around his waist was too tempting, he didn’t want to push it.

lyra smiled brightly up at anakin as he approached, feeling his vibrant aura the closer he stood to her. his hair had fallen into his face and she so badly wanted to push it back, run her fingers through it and feel him in her hands. “good morning,” she said softly with a smile. she glanced over at her closest friend, who was seemingly preoccupied with commander dameron, before looking back to anakin. “it’s should be a beautiful day, I think i’m going to explore the planet for a while. I could use some company,” lyra chewed her lower lip, trying not to act too excited at the prospect of spending the entire day alone with anakin, freely being themselves out in the open.

jaina looked up at poe, feeling his warm and sensing how genuine his offer was. the young pilot chewed her bottom lip, glancing over to lyra and anakin, seeing how wrapped in one another they already were, she took in a shaky breath, feeling jacen again as he forced her to open her connection to the force. “that…that sounds really nice, commander.” jaina smiled up at him, gazing upon how handsome commander poe looked in the morning glow. “i was just…hoping i could get a quick meditation with lyra…” jaina suggested, biting her bottom lip as she looked to her friend.

anakin smiled down at lyra, “well master galora,” anakin teased, intertwining his fingers with lyra’s under the mask of her tunic, “turns out, i too was planning on exploring the planet today. perhaps we can…explore together?” anakin grinned, running a hand through his hair. it’d been far too long since the pair had a day to themselves. anakin usually found himself on diplomatic missions with garrick, and lyra well. jaina usually dragged her around to whatever adventure she had planned for herself for the day.

the young skywalker raised a brow when he overheard jaina mention wanting to steal lyra away for a meditation. “oh j come on.” anakin nearly groaned, looking to his cousin, “do i need to remind you of last weeks lesson? with master kenobi” he lowered his voice as jaina’s cheeks turned pink. “meditate later?”

jaina quickly shut herself off from the force as her anxiety about her brother rose. both anakin and lyra felt it, and eyed jaina curiously. the brunette smiled, turning back to poe, “well! it looks like my day has opened up. what was that about some speeders?” she smiled up at him. this would be a good distraction. poe definitely was a distraction. a scrappy, reckless, sarcastic pilot. it was…fun. to be around someone so similar. “it’s been a while since i flew a speeder. hope i don’t crash.” she joked, looking up at him with a grin.

anakin eyed his cousin curiously, but ultimately let her walk away with the commander. “what do you think of that guy?” anakin asked about poe, looking down to lyra again, “garrick doesn’t seem to like him, but, he seems pretty…good.” the blonde teen shrugged, raking his fingers through his hair again, “and, more importantly, where would you like to head first?”

poe blinked as jaina said she needed to go off with lyra to meditate, feeling a bit discouraged. perhaps he’d misinterpreted her, was he being pushy? he only wanted to get to know leia’s daughter more, if she were half as fiery as her mother he thought they’d get along swimmingly. he relaxed a bit as jaina turned back to him and their plans once again became active. “if you can whip a tie-fighter the way you just did, I wouldn’t worry too much about a speeder,” he laughed, looking over at her with a grin as he took a step away from the group towards the speeders, motioning for her to come with him with a grin. poe looked over at jaina with a soft smile on his face as they walked together, noticing a slight distraction in her eyes. “everything alright, jaina? he asked softly, bumping his arm against hers. 

lyra glanced at jaina worriedly as her energy shifted drastically, feeling her anxiety. she’d asked to meditate three times now, apparently to no avail. could it have anything to do with her thoughts of jacen earlier? the feeling of anakin’s hand entwined in hers pulled her back to reality. “hm?” she looked up at him and shook her head. “garrick’s feeling threatened, he’s acted like this any time someone takes an interest in jaina. remember zekk?” she raised her brows, bringing up their fellow jedi that had been transferred to a different base for ‘training purposes,’ and was absolutely not relocated for getting caught doing something unsavory with the general’s daughter. lyra pulled anakin towards the speeders, choosing one that had side-by-side seating and climbing aboard. “garrick’s wise, but he’s protective to a fault,” lyra said softly as she started up their ride.

jaina grinned as poe reassured her that flying a speeder would be nothing. “well you’ve got a point there.” she teased, looking up at him with soft eyes as she followed him. jaina chewed on her bottom lip again, trying to calm her mind. she could feel jacen. she could feel ben. did this have something to do with her being reunited with her parents? poe’s voice lifted her from her thoughts, and as her eyes focused on his face she found herself calmed. jaina let out a sigh, nodding her head a few times, “yeah, yeah i’m good now.” she smiled, bumping her arm against his, “now show me to your speeders, commander.” she taunted as they approached.

anakin let out a loud laugh, stifling it as lyra smacked him to remind him they were still on base. the teen stifled his laughter, shaking his head, “i’m sorry, i had forgotten about zekk. garrick hated him more than i think he hates that commanders brother.” anakin laughed, remembering how many meditations turned into garrick ranting about zekk’s antics. “jaina’s always been a bit…wild. you know that you’ve grown up beside her. i think garrick could learn a thing or two from her. he could learn to lighten up.” anakin shrugged, glancing around to check if they were alone. once they’d crossed behind the falcon, anakin pulled lyra in. he kissed her deeply and passionately, one hand on her lower back as the other knotted in her hair. when he pulled away, they both were breathing heavily. “god i wish i could do that more often.” he whispered, caressing her cheek.

poe watched her curiously as he walked beside her, nearly tripping over himself once or twice as he became wrapped up in her. he grinned when she bumped him back, sliding his hands into the pockets of his bomber jacket. “pick whatever you want, princess,” he nodded sideways towards a line of different speeders, all belonging to the resistance. “how often do you get breaks like this as a jedi? aren’t you usually running around on some military mission?” he asked with a smile, climbing aboard the hovering speeder beside the one jaina chose. it was refreshing to meet someone outside of his usual crowd, and even more so with her being a jedi.

lyra laughed and nodded, starting so speak but gasping as anakin whirled her around into a kiss. she wove her fingers into his blonde locks as they kissed, gleeful as he held her. she grinned up at him when they broke apart, holding his face in her hands. she stroked her right thumb over the top of the scar running down his face and kissed him softly once more. “I do too, ani,” she breathed, looking up at him with heavy lidded eyes. she’d been caught off guard, but it was so easy to fall into him. he was her best worst habit.

jaina scoped out her options, option for an all black speeder. “this’ll do.” she grinned as she mounted the bike, eagerly fussing with the settings and looking back over to poe when he asked about breaks. jaina couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, “we don’t really get breaks.” jaina shrugged her shoulders, “and i mean, you know my parents.” she shrugged her shoulders, pulling a bobby pin out of her belt and pinning her braid up and around her head as to not whip her in the face while they were flying. “you grow up with general han solo and princess leia organa as your parents, you don’t really ‘get breaks’.” jaina looked to poe with a smirk as she sped out, leaving him in the dust. “better catch up, flyboy!”

anakin smiled, caressing lyra’s cheek gently. “c’mon, i haven’t seen any of this planet yet and i’ve been dying to.” he teased, pulling her into his chest and kissing her forehead, nose, then lips softly before reluctantly letting go of her to climb into the two-seater. he offered her his hand, helping her up before settling into the pilots seat, “it’s been too long since i’ve gotten to pilot a ship. jaina can be so selfish.” he scoffed, grinning over at lyra as they sped off. “where to?!” he called over the air whipping around them. anakin felt free, the wind in his hair and looking over at lyra as her hair and robes flew behind her. she really lived up to her name as the savior of the jedi.

poe nodded thoughtfully, weighing her words in his mind. his parents had always been with the resistance, always fighting and active. he’d learned to break off mentally from it all, and he was sure he’d lose it if he couldn’t do that. “you’ve got a point there,” he said with a smile, watching with amusement as she expertly started the speeder and whipped away. “hey!” he laughed, quickly starting his engine and letting out the exhaust to catch up to her, riding alongside her over the gentle terrain. “you’re following me, remember?” he called to her, grinning. he didn’t even care, he just knew he wanted to go somewhere with her. waterfall or not, d’qar had a lot of beauty to show off, and the commander was happy to entertain jaina’s desire for a brief escape to view it all. 

lyra followed closely behind anakin as he left her, not wanting to take her hands off him just yet. she climbed aboard beside him and laughed as he mentioned not piloting in a while, recalling every flight they took with ani and jaina and the bickering that would ensue over who would fly (jaina always prevailed). “I don’t care!” she called back with a laugh, leaning her head back as wind whipped around them. she let her eyes close with what felt like a permanent smile on her face. this was bliss. lyra turned her head to glance over at anakin, her dimples in full view as she watched him happily drive them forward. the young jedi scooted a bit closer to anakin and wrapped her arm around his, leaning her head against his shoulder.

jaina looked over at poe, laughing as he caught up to her quickly. the wind whipping through his hair and his bright smile melted jaina. she was unable to hide as her cheeks heated up. commander dameron was extremely handsome. just buff enough, a dazzling smile, curly hair, dark eyes. he reminded her a bit of zekk. she loved the thrill of being with garrick. the secretiveness. the risk. but garrick followed the rules. a complete opposite from her relationship with zekk, and even chance calrissian back on socorro. jaina cherished her time with garrick but being with poe felt…free. “i wanted to see how good of a pilot you really were!” jaina called out, smirking as she raced ahead of him, effortlessly weaving through trees.

anakin looked over at lyra with a grin, increasing the speed of their racer as they cruised into the lush green grass of the countryside. “it’s gorgeous here.” anakin called out after a moment. he wrapped his arm around lyra’s shoulder, kissing the top of her head and setting the ship to auto pilot for a moment. “you’re incredible.” he muttered, taking lyra’s face in his hands and kissing her softly. since the battle of the temple, lyra, anakin, and jaina had become quite inseparable. the three had been vital to the survival of the jedi, and lyra and anakin had deeply bonded over the discussions of the battle. they often spoke about ben. a name jaina rather not hear. anakin knew that he could trust lyra with his life. “i need to tell you something that’s going to sound crazy.” anakin began, looking down at lyra as they flew through the countryside. “i…i thought i heard ben this morning when i was meditating with my father and master kenobi…” 

poe laughed when she spoke to him and revved his engine, following the path she took with ease. the freedom of riding a speeder, feeling the wind around his body, was akin to flying. he was more than happy to entertain her this way. poe weaved around a tree and blew past her, blasting off into the trees. he looked back at her with a grin as he hit a clear patch of land, flying over the land and towards one of the glittering blue lakes that was nestled between rolling hills. poe straightened his bike out and let go of the handles, spreading his arms out at his sides to feel the wind whip around him as he flew over the water. he grinned over at jaina wildly, laughing as the pair glided over the cool water. 

lyra nodded with him in agreement as she looked out at the landscape, a smile on her face. “I could get used to it here,” she said softly, looking up at him as his hands found her face. she loved the way he looked at her, the way it drew her towards him even more. they fit together so well, their energies melded together with ease. she looked up at him curiously as he spoke, hazel eyes on his face. “I don’t think that’s crazy, ani,” she stroked a hand over his blonde waves, twisting the ends of his hair in her fingers idly as she sat beside him. “he’s part of the force, your father often hears from jedi who have passed.” she played with his hair gently while she spoke with him. “did he say anything to you?”


	4. an unexpected turn on d'qar

jaina gasped as poe flew past her. the brunette girl let out a laugh, revving her engine to follow his lead. she laughed, watching as poe hovered above the water. the way he smiled back at her lit up her heart. she smiled, again feeling the warmth of his energy. jaina straightened out her bike, taking a moment to pull her hair down from the braid she wore it in, and extended her arms as her hair and robes flew behind her. “d’qar is beautiful!” jaina called out, looking over at poe with a smile before facing forward again. she took in a deep breath, feeling the planet around her as she opened herself more to the force. jaina closed her eyes, letting the force guide her through the air. she hadn’t felt this way in a while. it was nice to feel this free.

“jaina you can’t ignore me!” jacen’s voice interrupted jaina’s thoughts. sending the young pilot tumbling through the air. she fumbled with her settings, gasping as she flew from the speeder and crashed into the water as the speeder met its untimely death against a tree. the water made jaina come to, and the jedi quickly swam to the surface, gasping for air. “…so much for behaving myself.” she joked, her face visibly paled by her brothers voice.

anakin looked down at lyra, feeling the sensitive, genuine nature of her aura. he inhaled deeply, “ly, this just…felt different. it was like…a shadow of ben…” anakin shook his head, biting into his bottom lip as he thought, “he…he asked about jaina.” anakin said softly, looking down at the brunette beside him with furrowed brows. “if he’s connecting with me he should be able to connect with her as well…but…didn’t you feel him leave at the temple too?” anakin asked, turning the speed of their aircraft down to better enjoy the scenery around them, and appropriately discuss what anakin had seen.

poe looked at her with a grin as they flew side by side, reveling in her beauty illuminated by the sun. his eyes widened, face falling as she went flying into the water. “jaina!” he called out, whipping the speeder around to come back for her. poe reached a hand out for her in the water, grasping her tightly and easily hauling her onto the speeder behind him. they hovered over the water, the air coming off the speeder rippling the surface of the lake below. “what happened there, princess?” he asked curiously, looking back at her. he was shocked that a pilot as fine as herself had just crashed and burned with nothing in sight. he couldn’t understand the physics of it, how she could’ve gone soaring the way she did. “hang on,” he said over his shoulder, blasting them towards the mouth of the lake to the waterfall he’d wanted to bring her to originally. poe parked and turned off the engine, climbing down onto the soft earth.

lyra’s eyebrows knitted together, looking away from anakin as she rolled the thought around in her mind. this didn’t make any sense. the shadow she’d seen earlier in her room… her chest felt tight when ani brought up the temple. “we lost ben that day, darth maul took his life, we all felt it, right?” she said softly, glancing back up at him. now that she spoke, a nagging sense in the back of her head doubted her own words. she felt like she was trying to convince herself ben was gone. but she’d felt it… hadn’t she?

jaina took in a shaky breath as poe brought the speeder to rest by the waterfall. jaina climbed off, pulling off her belt and shrugging off her vest, spreading it out to dry on a rock. “i’m sorry i just…” she shook her head, wringing out her hair before sitting down on a rock to pull off her shoes and socks so they could maybe dry. “i felt a disturbance in the force.” she admitted, looking up at the waterfall before them with soft, sad, distant eyes, this place reminding her of the beaches of naboo. han and leia would take jaina and her brothers there often. jacen would have loved d’qar. “i’ve felt more of them here than i’ve felt in a long while.” jaina wrung out her shirt before looking back up to meet poe’s eye, forcing a soft smile, “i’m sorry about the speeder, i’ll take whatever blame there is. god i’m soaked.” she laughed lightly, feeling horribly embarrassed for crashing a speeder so foolishly. she was a better pilot than that. “it’s not a bad day for a swim, don’t you think? i’ll feel a lot less foolish taking off my clothes if you did too.” she teased, wringing out her shirt again.

anakin nodded his head as lyra spoke, “well, we know for certain you and i did. right?” he asked softly. he remembered the battle so vividly, but ben’s disappearance felt…different. it didn’t feel like jacen and the others. it was just…nothing. “j refuses to talk about it, but you know that.” he sighed, running a hand through his hair and looking out over the lake they were flying over. he reached his hand out, skimming his fingers over the top of the clear blue water, “we haven’t heard from ben like we have with jacen. why would he be reaching out to us now?” anakin asked, looking to meet lyra’s eye. maybe he too was going a bit mad. he missed his cousin and best friend terribly, and maybe this was just a figment of his imagination. it had been a while since all of the solos and skywalkers were in one place. the feeling of family maybe set something off? “something’s not right, lee. i feel…a disturbance…”

poe pushed a hand through his dark curls, glancing over at her a she stood dripping wet. she took his breath away. he let out a laugh, a twinkle in his eye. “jaina solo, are you trying to get me naked?” he feigned shock, resting a hand on his chest for a moment before flashing a smile and shrugging off his bomber jacket, pulling his t-shirt over his head. “because it’s kinda working,” he took his belt off and tossed it next to the speeder in the pile of his other clothes and kicked off his boots. poe stood before her, tall dark and chiseled. “your mother’s gonna kill me if she finds out I gave you a defective speeder and stripped in front of you,” poe said, only half joking. leia was one of the most intimidating people he’d ever met, and he wouldn’t put it past her to have him thrown out, excellent pilot or not. he looked over at the young woman with a grin, happy as he felt the warmth from the suns on his face.

lyra nodded, chewing on her lowed lip. that day was imprinted in her mind, as much as she wanted to forget about it. ben had fallen away from her mind as if he’d been sucked away into a black hole, and part of her heart had been ripped away with him. the pain she’d felt that day from the loss of their fellow jedi alone was damaging, but losing ben almost broke her. she glanced up at anakin from where she’d been staring off at the lake. “you feel it too?” she said softly, worry in her eyes. there had been a layer of unease beneath everything she’d felt and seen in the last few days, something not sitting quite right. “I don’t like it, ani,” she shook her head. “theres something wrong.”

jaina was unable to hold in a laugh as poe teased her. “well, let’s make sure my mother doesn’t find out. you don’t wanna know what they did to the last boy to be caught naked with me.” she teased as she pulled off her pants, spreading them out over a rock to dry, “besides,” she turned back to him as she unbuttoned her shirt. small scars from various battles covered her stomach and back. the scar across her chest was mostly hidden by her bra, otherwise she’d have suffered in all of her wet clothes. “i think your brothers gonna be the real upset one. first time you hang out with jaina solo and you got her naked? tsk tsk flyboy.” she smirked, draping her shirt over a rock before turning to look at poe again, unable to resist poking his firm chest. “yknow, usually i make men take me on a date before they get me naked like this.” she smirked, batting her lashes up at him before turning and diving into the water. she could feel a deep connection with poe. something she’d never felt before. it wasn’t often jaina would entertain someone she hardly knew. but something about poe was different. as she resurfaced she grinned at him as he stood on the beach, “come on in! i’ll try not to bite too hard!” she smirked, waving him over.

anakin inhaled deeply, lacing his fingers with lyras as they sat in the cruiser, flying over d’qars vast beautiful landscape. it reminded him of naboo, and summer trips with his cousins and lyra. the group spent much of their time as children in naboo. “should we…talk to j about it? see if she’s felt it too?” he asked softly. both him and lyra knew how difficult it was for jaina to discuss the battle of the temple. she and anakin had hardly discussed it, despite the horrible injuries she (and lyra) had suffered. jaina rarely spoke about what truly took place that day, and it often became difficult to decipher between truth and legend. what jaina and lyra had accomplished that day saved thousands of years of jedi tradition. without them, the jedi order would have been lost. since the battle, anakin had been worried about his younger cousin. he knew how inseparable jaina and ben were growing up. they were twins! anakin had to shake the thoughts from his head, he felt a part of himself die that day, but he could never imagine how jaina felt. “well, honestly, we’d probably have better luck with garrick getting through to her.” anakin said with a sigh, knowing how stubborn jaina could be, and remembering the last time that he had tried bringing ben up, jaina sent him through a wall. “or perhaps…maybe my mother. j would have to listen to her.”

poe’s eyes slowly moved over jaina’s frame as she laid her clothes out, sliding over the scars that littered her back. he grinned at her as she turned around, his cheeks warming a bit. he laughed and met her eye, starting to undo the button of his pants and shimmy them down. her flirtation made him smirk and he chuckled when she dove into the clear blue water, chuckling when she surfaced and waved him on. poe kicked his pants off to the side and ran up to the water in his shorts, leaping and splashing into the crystal water near her. he treaded water beside her, shaking his dark hair out of his face. since they’d met the previous day, every interaction had made him feel so free, like he was soaring. he got the same feeling when he was in the x-wing, the same fluttering in his chest. jaina was different than anyone else he’d ever met. he splashed at her playfully, a grin on his face. “you keep surprising me,” he said with a chuckle, his dark eyes on her. 

lyra let out a breath, looking up at him with sad eyes. “I think I need to talk to her,” she shook her head a little. she knew jaina better than anyone else did at this point, she knew she wouldn’t be receptive. “I don’t think she’ll listen to anyone else, you and I both know her well enough to know that,” lyra said softly, thinking of her friend. “she’s off with commander dameron, but something’s been bothering her, something with jacen,” lyra contemplated her options of how to help jaina, and decided to check on her for now. they could get into details together later. she felt out for jaina’s energy in the force and sat back against the seat, closing her eyes as she focused on jaina. the positivity reverberating back was reassuring even if it was temporary. a thick, weighty black cloud of energy and aura rushed towards her and lyra pulled back with a gasp, her eyes shooting open. lyra clutched her chest with one hand, the other flying to grasp the dash of the speeder. “anakin, something… something’s wrong, I.. I don’t know what I just saw, but there’s darkness,” she looked up at him worriedly.

jaina laughed, “I surprise you?” she questioned, looking over at the curly haired man inquisitively, “well, what were you expecting?” she asked, dipping under the water to pull her hair back off of her face, her eyes curiously on him. “were you expecting someone as disciplined as master kenobi?” she teased, raising her hand to stop the splash before sending it back at poe. only slightly wanting to show off her force abilities. “not all jedi are as…focused, as garrick is.” jaina laughed, thinking of the blonde haired master and how unpleased he was going to be to find out where (and how) jaina was spending her day. she could also feel lyra’s energy, and the sensation made her pause. lyra was off with anakin, it was rare she’d reach out like this. “besides, you’re the surprising one. i can’t recall the last time i had an off day on a rebel base and met anyone remotely like you.” jaina smiled, gesturing over to him as they treaded water. she was briefly distracted by lyra’s energy’s sudden departure, and couldn’t help turning around to see if someone had been standing there on the beach with them, “where’d you say you’re from again?” jaina asked, wanting to know this man her mother spoke so highly of, and not wanting to think about whatever the force was trying to tell her.

anakin’s eyes widened and he quickly took control of the speeder when lyra’s eyes shot open, “what just happened lee?” the young jedi asked, concern in his every word. anakin landed the ship next to one of d’qar’s glistening blue lakes, and had turned to face lyra worriedly. “is jaina hurt? did the commander do something to her?” he asked, looking between her eyes worriedly and trying to read what had just happened. lyra always had a deeper connection with the solo twins. even ben, before his demise, lyra was able to see and feel things that only the twins should have been able to. “what did you see? was it jacen?” anakin asked, taking one of lyra’s hands and lacing his fingers through hers, “…was it…ben?”

poe raised his brows, grinning when she threw the water back to him. the force harnessed into elements was so impressive, he felt like he were witnessing some kind of miracle. he’d seen the jedi so many times while fighting with the resistance, and it was like the first time all over again every time. “you’re pretty incredible,” he said with a soft laugh, watching her move through the water. he followed her gaze to the shore, brows knitting together a bit as he too got the feeling they were being watched. something unsettled him, the forest no longer seemed friendly. the dark was too dark. he turned back to jaina, trying to put it in the back of his mind. “i’m from the yavin system, born and raised,” he said as he treaded water by her side, his curiosity peaking. “where’re you from, besides the falcon?”

lyra caught her breath, shaking her head a bit as she thought on what she’d just experienced. “It’s not the commander, it’s something else,” she said softly, an alarm screaming in her mind. “the only other time I’ve felt that is when the sith attacked,” she looked up at anakin, hazel eyes wide. that forceful, invasive black, dark and dim, was a rarity. mind torture inflicted upon her by darth maul had felt the same, and had haunted her since the day it had happened. “we need to get back, I have to talk to luke,” she said, hurriedly reaching over and starting the speeder from the passenger’s side.

jaina grinned as poe said she was incredible. the young pilot casually shrugged, “i know” before leaning back into the water, floating gently as she embraced the suns warmth. focus on the light. “we were born on coruscant.” she explained, pausing for a moment as she heard her words, “i…i mean…” she sighed, sinking underwater for a moment. it still felt so weird to just be “I” for so long, jaina and ben were the inseparable “we” or “us”. what is happening? jaina thought before resurfacing and looking over at poe. she forced a thin smile, running a hand through her hair, “well, you know the story.” she shrugged, looking up towards the sun. this was another reason jaina usually avoided becoming too friendly with any of the rebels on base. everyone knew the legend of the sword of the jedi. jaina felt as if she needed to live up to that name. the sword of the jedi would never show weakness. the scar across her chest ached.

anakin looked at lyra worriedly, “when the sith-?” before anakin could finish his thought, lyra had taken over controls and was racing them back towards the camp to find luke. “let me, lee. you’re shaking.” anakin said softly, resting a comforting hand on her back to ease some of the pain. his eyes widened as he felt the gravity of what lyra had just felt. his heart ached, the visceral darkness sending him back to that fateful day at the temple. anakin took over the controls, increasing the ships speed as he sought out his father and garrick through the force, “this way!” he called out, landing outside of the rebel headquarters and jumping out of the ship. he offered lyra his hand, “my father, aunt, and master kenobi are inside-“

“lyra? anakin?” mara jade’s voice called from across the town square. the red haired jedi crossed over, wind blowing her hair and robes behind her as she looked upon the teens with worried brows. she could feel their uneasiness. she too had felt a disturbance. mara gently rest her hand on lyra’s arm, “lyra dear, what have you seen?” she asked softly, looking upon the young jedi with concern.

poe chewed his lower lip, frowning a bit as she brushed the question off. his mahogany eyes didn’t leave her as she looked away from him. “well, I don’t know your story, jaina,” he said softly, swimming a bit closer to her. “how you became the sword, maybe, but,” he shook his head. “I don’t know you,” poe wanted to say more but was abruptly caught off guard by a change in the water’s temperature around them. breath left his lungs in a huff as the water became icy. confusion crossed his face, mixed with a wave of brief panic before he looked over at her and headed to the shore. “come on, I think the weather’s changing,” he called to her as he swam in, startled by the abrupt shift in the planet’s typically mild climate and predictable temperate patterns. the water was starting to grow choppy, the wind picking up. poe felt something deep within, something that unsettled him. he held a hand out for jaina as the pair climbed out of the lake, goosebumps covering his arms. the suns snuck behind a grey cloud and chilled him further. “if your clothes aren’t dry yet, you can wear mine,” he offered, running his hands over his head to wring his hair out.

lyra sat beside anakin in the speeder anxiously, looking around them at their surroundings as they sped back to base. the force felt altered, imbalanced around them. “I have a bad feeling about this,” she breathed, taking his hand as they climbed out of the speeder. she appreciated the support he was giving her, but it couldn’t ease the feeling of desperation growing within her. the pair hustled towards mara, lyra’s hazel eyes wild. “something’s coming, there’s something dark headed to us,” she shook her head, trying to pin down the peace in her mind. the unruly twisted darkness had permeated her mind like a virus. “I think it’s the sith,” her voice lowered as she looked up at her aunt, shaking her head. “where’s luke, I need to speak to him,” she said quickly, glancing between mara and anakin. “and we need jaina back, no one should leave the base,” she let go of anakin and hurried off towards the temple to find luke. if anyone knew what to do it would be her master.

jaina looked over at poe, opening her mouth to elaborate as the weather around them shifted. jaina took poe’s hand, squeezing it tightly as she climbed out of the water. “somethings wrong.” she commented softly as they stood on the shore. she looked out over the water, the shadows creeping closer. “i can’t risk you getting in trouble, commander. c’mon!” jaina waved her hands over her clothes, pulling out as much of the water as she could before quickly redressing, then using the same force techniques to wring her hair out. “i wasn’t lying, the last boy my mother caught naked with me was kicked out of our temple.” jaina said in a joking tone. a sick attempt to lighten the mood as she raised her hands to poe’s hair, drying his curls as much as she could by running her hands through his hair. jaina looked up at him, her hazel eyes locking on poe’s dark, mysterious ones. she’d forgotten her hands were still in his hair. a gust of wind brought her back to her senses, and she quickly tied her belt around her waist. “hope you don’t mind me hitching a ride!” she called out as they raced to the speeder. jaina let poe pilot, and wrapped her arms tightly around him as they sped off towards base.

maras face paled when lyra said that she felt the sith. “he’s inside with your aunt leia and garrick. come quickly, we must tell them. anakin, you stay here and keep an eye out for your cousin. if it is the sith, we all need to be on high alert.” the red haired woman commented, taking lyras hand in hers.

“yes mother.” anakin nodded once, looking at lyra with concern. don’t worry. i’ll be with you. he said through the force, at the same time a cold gust of wind blew through the three jedi. mara led lyra into command center, “they were meeting about one of the newest padawan…” she paused, sensing out her husband.

“mara? lyra?” luke’s voice called as he, general organa, and garrick kenobi exited the conference room they had been in, with members of the jedi council, as well as rebel leaders. the master jedi could sense something was wrong. mara and lyra both had a darkness around them, leia too. “lyra what’s happened? are you alright?”

poe looked at jaina worriedly as she gave him the feeling something was wrong. “were we ever really naked?” he joked back, playing along as best he could as they threw their clothes on. her hands in his hair brought a shiver down his spine and he met her eye, his lips parting absentmindedly as he looked down at her for a moment. the pair quickly gathered up their things and hopped on the speeder, heading back towards the base. poe expertly beelined his way through the forest, dodging trees with ease. the mist around them no longer seemed friendly and dreamy, but threatening. he kept his wits about him as they went, trying to remain positive despite never having experienced d’qar this way before. the ride back felt much longer than the ride to the lake had and when they reached the base, poe parked and slid down, holding out a hand for jaina as she hopped down behind him. “don’t worry about the speeder, princess, i’ll take care of it. we have plenty anyway,” he said softly as they weaved through pilots prepping their ships for the incoming storm, making sure things were put away and sealed tightly. he wasn’t sure how reassuring he was being because jaina looked worried- whether it was about the crashed speeder or not, he wasn’t sure, but he tried to air on the side of caution. “I have to check on bb-8 and make sure the x-wing’s locked down, do you want to come with me?” he offered politely, fully expecting her to say no after spending most of the day with him.

lyra glanced back at anakin as she felt him, forcing a small smile before she disappeared into the base alongside her aunt. she clutched onto luke’s arm when they reached him, looking up at him with a face full of worry. “I felt a great disturbance in the force, something awful is coming,” she said, her voice hushed. she glanced to garrick and back to her master, who was well aware of her precognition. it was something they’d been working on, but she had yet to master it. “i’ve been worried about jaina and I reached out to her through the force, just to check in, and there’s something coming for her, for all of us,” she looked up at luke with wide eyes, shaking her head. “it’s the sith,” she breathed. she was sure of it. there was no other explanation, no other entity that held that same twisted blackness. “I don’t think we’re safe here.”

garrick worriedly eyed lyra, thinking of his earlier conversation with jaina about jacen and his warning. he’d said to watch out for ben? he had to have gotten that wrong. the thought was illogical. and yet, the more garrick worried on it, the greater his fear became. what did ben have to do with this? he could feel it too, just as the rest of the jedi had, the darkness felt like a weighty plague. and it was fast encroaching.

jaina pressed her face tightly into poe’s back as they flew. she was unable to shake the uneasiness off, despite her best attempts to calm her mind. jaina took his hand as she jumped from the speeder, “i have a bad feeling about this.” she said softly, looking up towards the sky as the clouds gathered in. poe asking her if she wanted to come with him once again tore her from her thoughts, and she turned to face the commander, “of course! i just need to get my lightsaber!” she called out, darting up onto the millennium falcon and racing to the cockpit to retrieve the lightsaber she’d foolishly left in there while exploring with commander dameron. she quickly activated the ships security measures, the falcon locking up as she raced down the ramp. “your men need to get inside!” jaina yelled as the winds began to whip around them, her hair and robes blowing furiously. she clutched poes arm as the two came up with a plan. “this isn’t your average storm!” jaina added, fastening her lightsaber to her belt, “this is the work of the sith. i can feel it. it’s been following us all day. we need to get the civilians to safety!” jaina exclaimed as her and poe began running towards the xwings. after securing one and running towards the next, jaina was pulled backwards by the force. it felt as though someone had tied a rope through her, the knot ending where ben had scarred. her chest throbbing as the force pulled her backwards, off of her feet and tumbling. “sister.” a voice she hadnt heard in years echoed, and jainas face turned white, “you have to go! get out of here!” jaina screamed towards poe, pushing herself to her feet. “now, poe!” jaina used the force to shove him back and away from the approaching darkness. she turned as the fog raced in, drawing her purple lightsaber.

leia looked between luke and lyra, her face ridden with worry. “if this is a sith attack we need to find jaina immediately.” the usually stoic general commanded, a tone of worry in her voice. “vice admiral holdo, lockdown the base and all the civilians until the jedi and i are able to confirm what’s causing this storm.” she stated to her purple haired friend who nodded and immediately left to proceed lock down initiaves. “lyra, did you see where jaina is?” she asked, as luke turned to the entrance, sensing his nieces presence.

“she’s in the hangar. there’s something…someone…” luke began, worry rising in his chest as he was unable to sense who was attempting to get their attention so desperately. “if this truly is a sith attack we all need to remain focused. jaina is a strong jedi and she’s defeated them in the past. we cannot allow ourselves to think the worst.” luke reassured, looking between lyra and garrick as he sensed the pairs concern for their friend.

leia looked at her brother, taking his hand gently, “luke, i refuse to lose my daughter too.” she stared firmly, in a moment of rare vulnerability not often seen outside of the family. mara rested her hand on her sister in laws, squeezing her hand reassuredly,

“i promise you, you won’t.” jainas master reassured, “find han and help him and the others evacuate the civilians and get to safety. we’ll handle whatever it is out there.” mara said firmly, moving her hand to her lightsaber as she and luke exchanged a glance. the four jedi splitting off from general organa to provide backup on the hangar.

anakin had spotted the glow of jainas purple lightsaber from across the base through the encroaching fog. “that can’t be good.” he muttered, force projecting to lyra, “something’s after jaina. im providing backup! hurry!” the young jedi knight took off running towards his cousin, drawing his blue lightsaber as he did, the darkness seemed all encompassing as he neared her.

as she spotted the blue lightsaber, jaina raised her hand and sent her cousin flying backwards. having heard her brothers voice and assumed that the glow of the light was that of her brother, ben. “good.” his voice approved, sending jaina into even more of a panic as anakin groaned, pushing himself to his feet. “what’s happening to me?!” jaina yelled out, unable to see poe or anakin anymore though the fog. she held her lightsaber tightly, closing her eyes and turning deeper into the force.

poe looked over at jaina worriedly as the gusts of wind tousled his dark curls, his chest tightening at the mention of the sith. he hurriedly secured a ship before glancing back at his jedi companion and jumping down from the cockpit. “you can’t face this alone, jaina!” he called to her before she threw him backwards, stumbling to keep himself from hitting the ground. deeply unsettled, he let his eyes linger on her for a moment before he grabbed the rest of the pilots that had been working hastily to lock down the hangar. the group of them jogged back to the command center and poe nearly ran into anakin as the blonde came running out. he apologized and kept moving, glancing back at anakin as he disappeared into the incoming fog. the pilot cursed under his breath and hustled his people inside, deciding he needed to touch base with general organa. leia would know what to do.

as she felt the tides shift outside the command center and the darkness close in, lyra broke away from her master and elders and ran through the corridor to get outside. she exited on the opposite side that anakin had come from and though she could sense him and jaina, there was so much clouding their energies. she drew her lightsaber, the teal blue blade cut through the dark fog and illuminated her in an oceanic light. “jaina,” she reached out to her friend through the force, feeling as though her mind was treading through mud to get to her. she felt a breath against the back of her neck and she whirled around, her blade cutting through the fog. despite being unable to sense the energy, someone else was with them. she could feel it. 

garrick illuminated his blue saber as he ran out the same way anakin had, with luke close behind. “anakin,” garrick called as he reached his padawan, able to spot him only due to his lit blade and his proximity to the exit. “what’s happened?” he asked, trying to look around through the fog to spot jaina. panic was rising in his chest, he could sense jaina and her rising fear. “where is she?” he asked, glancing at anakin before his gaze returned to the darkness, trying to spot jaina’s signature purple blade through the fog. he hated not being able to be by her side, and he felt a sense of deja vu from the attack on the temple. 

lyra felt a twisting knot in the pit of her stomach, a gut feeling that something was horribly wrong. she closed her eyes and pressed through to jaina again through the force, concentrating on getting through the convoluted darkness. “i’m here with you,” she tried to reassure her friend. she cautiously walked forward through the fog with her eyes closed and saber drawn, feeling her way closer to jaina through the force. she was trying desperately to change this nightmare into a dream, to prevail alongside her friend as they had so many times before. she was pulled back to reality by the sensation of fingers wrapped around her throat. her eyes shot open and she looked around wildly, panicking as she yet again saw no one. “jaina?” she called out loud, gripping her saber tightly in one hand, the other clutching at her neck as the feeling intensified. lyra dropped to her knees as she lost air, unable to breathe with the force choking her. she clawed at her throat and dropped her lightsaber, the metal clattering to the ground. all the young jedi could see around her was black shadows, outlines of dark figures illuminated by the hazy blue light coming from her lightsaber on the ground. she fell to the side as her vision clouded, losing the strength to keep herself upright. this permeating darkness was worse than the temple, stronger than before, and that scared the living hell out of her.

anakin stood panting on the edge of the fog. his face pale and sweaty as he regained his composure. “it’s jaina. she’s in there!” anakin called over the windstorm, “i tried to run to her but she…” he slowly moved a hand to his neck, realizing that jaina hadn’t just shoved him back. she’d cut off his air. the young jedi looked between his parents worriedly, before he looked over to garrick. mara and luke exchanged a worried glance as anakin continued, “she needs our help!”

“lyra ran in after her.” mara said softly, resting her hand on her sons back to ease his mind. the red haired woman was at a loss. anakins face fell at his mother’s words. he looked between her and the black fog, ready to run in by himself if need be.

“we can’t leave them alone in there. garrick, you and anakin take the north, mara and i will go in from the south. use the force! stay alert!” luke commanded, leading his wife into the fog with the glow of their lightsabers to guide them.

jaina saw another blue light saber approach and raised her hand at the intruder. she could feel the protest, the struggle, as she lifted the intruder off of their feet. she clenched her fist, cutting off their air supply.

“very good.” her brothers voice congratulated, “it’s easy isn’t it? embrace your anger!” he commanded. jaina’s body wasn’t her own, she felt like a puppet as she moved. swiftly slicing her saber through the fog to see who had been stupid enough to follow her into this mess. “you can’t just forget about me, sister.” the voice tainted as jaina approached the figure. “we are two halves of one whole.” she kneeled beside the intruder as the voice continued. slowly, jaina turned the body over to see who had tried to intervene. jainas eyes widened as she realized that lyra had chased in after her. the young pilot gasped in horror, quickly checking lyras vitals and thanking the suns that she was still with her.

jaina rest her hand over lyras body, easing her of injury as ben’s voice echoed around her. “what are you doing?! leave her! come with me!” he commanded. jaina couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. everything was dark and the only thing she could focus on was making sure that lyra was okay. “forget about her the way you forgot about me! the way you all forgot about me!” ben exclaimed, thunder crashing around them as he spoke. jaina looked down at lyra as she opened her eyes. jaina exhaled in relief, “stay down.” she whispered, cupping lyras cheek gently before she stood up.

“this…this isn’t real!” jaina yelled out, protectively standing infront of lyra. “whatever you are, leave me alone!” she yelled out, “i will never hurt my friends!” jaina exclaimed, feeling jacens presence as she pushed her hands forward. black lightning shot from her finger tips. the last time she’d been able to summon it was at the temple, when jacen had died. this is bad. jaina directed the lightning at every inch of darkness surrounding her and lyra, lighting up a path for the other jedi to find them.

“i’ll be back.” ben’s voice had shifted. it sounded like a mix of jaina’s, jacens, and ben’s. jaina could tell lyra heard it too, by the concern that covered the other girls face. the dark connection to the force was severed instantly, and the dark clouds lifted. kylo ren sat back on his ship, cussing himself. he was foolish to think jaina would fall so easily. although, he could feel his sisters anger. that was a start. and lyra…well, he’d never thought of that angle.

lightning was still sparking in jainas hands as the fog dissipated. “lyra.” she whispered, falling to her knees at her friends side, “are you alright? lee i’m sorry i couldn’t see anything i just…i saw the blue saber…i heard a voice…” jaina whispered, helping her friend sit up, “i thought…i thought it was…” jaina whispered, not wanting to say his name out loud. she couldn’t face the facts that this could be real. was ben still alive?! the young Jedi panicked as she looked her friend over. jaina clenched her fists, lightning once again sparking in her hand. her anger was all encompassing. “we’re in danger.” she muttered to lyra, looking up as luke and mara ran towards them. she glanced back to where she’d last spotted poe, feeling out for him through the force, hoping she didn’t hurt him in her fury too.

Garrick patted Anakin’s shoulder once as the pair of them ran towards the northern side of the hangar. “Don’t let your anger betray you, Anakin, your hope is your strength,” Garrick nodded to him once as they carefully made their way inwards to the fog. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to calm his shaking hands as he listened for Jaina amongst the roar of the wind and what sounded like angry whispers. He hesitated as he saw a shadow fast approaching, swinging his lit blade through the blackness and cutting through nothing. The shadow swirled around him, blackness pooling at his feet and dissipating into the fog. This was bad. The darkness was swallowing them.

Lyra was pulled into the dark, her consciousness slipping. She collapsed, unable to fight it any longer. Nothingness enveloped her, and then slowly, a gentle light brought her back. She fluttered her eyes open and gasped when her eyes met Jaina’s, scrambling up to her elbows. The booming sound surrounding them struck fear in her heart. “Ben?” She breathed, his name feeling foreign on her lips as she called it out loud, not in conversation but for him to hear- it had been years. She looked up at Jaina in a panic, cold tears rolling down her cheeks reflexively following her blackout. The violence of the wind blew her hair out of her usual tidy buns, ripping pieces out of pace and whipping them into her face. She reached up and grasped Jaina’s leg from where she lay, looking up at her friend desperately. “Don’t give in to hate,” she gasped, the strength absent from her voice after what had just happened.

Garrick ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards Jaina once the lightning broke through the fog. His heart pounded in his chest, the fear that he was going to lose her to the dark catching in his throat. “Jaina!” He called out, reaching her just as Luke and Mara did. Anakin ran behind him, only a few steps away. “Are you alright?” Garrick asked worriedly, his soft blue eyes searching her for any wounds. He lifted one of her hands, carefully inspecting the lightning scarred skin- nothing new, nothing damaging. The Jedi master gently let her hand go, his eyes not leaving her. He could sense her fear, the disruption to her peace. Garrick tried to pull some of her pain, but his force energy jumped backwards as if he’d gotten too close to a fire. There was so much torment within Jaina, a burning vengefulness that Garrick couldn’t process. His eyes widened as he looked at her, resolving to help Lyra up from where she lay instead. Something about Jaina’s demeanor was putting him off, like a switch had been flipped. Garrick checked Lyra’s vitals and the reached for her lightsaber to turn the glowing teal blade off.

Luke rested a hand on Jaina’s cheek when he reached her, concern in his eyes. “It’s him, isn’t it?” He said softly, his intuition kicking in. Luke pulled Jaina into a hug, feeling the chaos within his niece as he held her. There had to be a way out of this. There just had to.

anakin ran behind garrick, slicing at the shadows as they surrounded him and his master in an attempt light their path. “I don’t like this, garrick!” anakin muttered as he spun around, sensing a presence behind him. an odd sense of familiarity took over anakin. he could see a hooded shadow…that looked like him? anakin raised his blue lightsaber, his eyes widened when the shadow raised red. Anakin snapped back to reality when thunder shook the base. the young jedi knight turned, having lost garrick in the fog. suddenly, he spotted black lightning clearing the fog, and echoing deep into the sky. anakin had only seen this once before, at the temple. “jaina!” anakin called out racing towards his cousin. he couldn’t feel her in the force. anakin stopped a ways behind garrick, letting his master examine his cousins hands before Anakin rushed to lyras side, “are you alright?” he asked softly, looking between her eyes, “you’re safe now.”

jaina stood a bit frozen as garrick approached her. a part of her wanted so badly to collapse in his arms. feel the warmth and light that he consistently provided. instead, she pulled her hand back with a soft insistence, “I’m fine.” she looked away from garricks eye. she could sense his hesitancy, his fear, and that only made the storm inside of her grow more wild, more similar to the one that had just torn through d'qar. she looked up at her uncle sadly as he rest his hand on her cheek. a calmness overcame her, and jaina turned off her lightsaber, the cool metal sliding from her hand and clattering to the ground as her uncle enveloped her in a hug. “Uncle Luke…” jaina cried softly, feeling like a youngling again as she trembled in her uncle’s embrace. the storm brewing in her gut calmed as luke held her close. “I…I can’t…” she shook her head, looking up at him, “not here, Uncle Luke. please.” she begged softly, the sound of her brothers voice had shocked her to her core. she’d felt him die during the battle of the temple. if she had been wrong about this, what else could she have been wrong about?

Mara kneeled beside Lyra, running a gentle hand over her hair as Luke held jaina close. “we should get inside anyways, Luke. in case they come back.” she said softly, looking back at jaina and Luke before down to Lyra again, "can you walk?” Mara asked softly, tucking her lightsaber into her belt and lifting jaina’s from the ground. she handed the other purple saber to Luke, who set it in jaina’s hand gently. “i’ll gather han and leia.” mara said softly as she stood to her feet, “anakin, garrick, help lyra into the temple. we’ll reconvene there. we need to figure out who, or what, is trying to get our attention before we tell the rebels.“ mara commanded, squeezing her husbands hand before hurrying towards the command center to find han and leia. "Leia!” she called out as she ran to her sister in law. the general was speaking with some of the commanders about next steps, and Mara’s rushing caught one curly haired pilots attention more than the others.

“were any civilians hurt?” jaina asked softly after her aunt Mara took off. her voice sounded foreign to herself. whatever had just happened overpowered her like nothing she’d ever experienced before. she was tired, scared, and sore. and more than anything she was terrified that she’d injured an innocent. (she’d still hardly registered what she had done to lyra.) she was still grappling with her body not feeling like her own. jaina’s hands stung with the remnants of lightning that had coursed through her. she took her lightsaber from her uncle and tucked it into her belt. she quickly wiped her tears from her cheeks, not wanting the other jedi or rebels to know she’d shown a hint of emotion. she couldn’t turn to face garrick, anakin, or lyra. as she and her uncle led the jedi towards the temple, jaina looked up at luke, fear and sadness evident on her face, “I heard him Uncle Luke.” jaina admitted softly, “I…I felt him…” she said quietly as luke opened the temple doors for the group. her whole life she’d feared falling to the dark side. she’d never taken a moment to consider…had ben been the one to fall? the chaos in her gut rose at the thought as she slumped into a seat in the temple, holding her head in her hands as she sat away from the others. she felt anger, shame, fear. she wasn’t worthy of being a jedi.

ben heard the soft whisper of his name, and whipped his head around from where he stood upon his ship. the voice, soft and sweet. he swore she was standing behind him. for a moment, he could almost see her. a vague light brightened the dim room. this voice wasn’t dripping in anger, as jaina’s so often was these days. every time ben, or as he now called himself, kylo ren had tried to reach out to his sister, he was met with the darkness within her. her anger, her hatred, her fear. kylo thought that it would be easy to turn his sister to the dark side. especially by using the evident darkness already within her. no other jedi could summon force lightning. not like that. but this wasn’t his sister’s voice. no, this was a voice kylo hadn’t heard in years. he decided to test his theory. he closed his eyes, and whispered a soft, “lyra.”

luke held onto jaina for a moment longer, resting his palm against the back of her head. he absorbed some of her fear before letting her go, one hand resting on her upper back. “I know,” he said softly, looking his niece in the eye. “let’s get you inside, j,” he gently led her alongside him away from lyra and their fellow knights. “was this the first time you’ve felt him since that day?” luke asked jaina quietly, his light eyes on her face as they walked side by side into the base. he had great concern for jaina, he sensed great conflict within her as she dealt with this. he knew the bond she had with her brothers was incredibly strong and losing jacen at ben’s hand had ripped her apart. “I felt him too, we all did. your mother, she… she’ll need your support,” luke pulled her aside as they neared the temple’s entrance. “jaina, I think our worst fears have come true,” the older master looked at his niece seriously, letting out a breath. “ben’s a part of the dark side.”

lyra looked up at anakin and garrick with wide, doe-like eyes as the jedi helped her to her feet. “i’m fine,” she said softly, leaning against anakin as he supported her. she felt weary but adrenaline now coursed through her, sharpening her senses to the force. she looked up at anakin and then glanced to garrick, who was on her other side. “where’s jaina, is she alright?” she asked worriedly. garrick let out a less than reassuring sigh, which made lyra stop in her tracks. the men turned to face her, garrick’s forehead creased with worry.

“I think she needs some space right now, lyra,” he said softly. the dark haired girl shook her head in disagreement, frowning at garrick. he was afraid.

“what she needs is support, master,” lyra frowned at garrick, the older man had clearly let his feelings cloud his judgement of the situation at hand. and with reason, there had never been so much clouded darkness and fury in jaina. but now wasn’t the time to abandon hope. she walked off away from the boys to find her friend and check in on her.

poe rushed through the crowd that had gathered within the base in search of jaina. he caught sight of her with luke and hustled towards them, a sense of relief washing over him at the sight of jaina outside of the fog. “hey,” he smiled softly, lines of worry remaining in his face. luke looked between them and nodded once to the commander.

“i’ll give you two a few minutes, jaina. we’ll meet in the temple when you’re finished,” luke patted her on the arm gently before he headed into the temple to meet with han, leia, and the rest of the council to discuss what had just happened.

lyra was walking down towards the temple when she was again struck by the heartbreaking familiarity of ben’s voice, low and graveled. she felt as though the sound around her had been sucked away, leaving only her voice and his. was he force projecting to her? the whisper of her name behind her drew all the breath from her lungs. “ben,” she echoed him, turning around to face an out of focus dark figure. “what’ve you done?” she said softly, her voice not full of hatred, but disappointment, sadness. the dark haired young woman stood in the middle of the vacant hallway, trying to decipher the figure into a more detailed shape. it was like being back in the fog.

jaina walked alongside luke towards the temple. her uncle and aunt had always been an incredible source of strength, and resilience. jaina knew it was because of her uncle luke’s connection to the force that he was able to comfort her the way that he did. when no one else could ease her mind, she knew she could rely on him. “i…i may have felt him before…” jaina said softly, unable to look her uncle in the eye, “i…i’ve just been so angry…i tried to ignore what the force was telling me. I…I ignored what jacen was trying to tell me…“ she admitted softly, closing her eyes and wringing her aching hands as they walked. jaina’s face fell at her uncle’s statement. as much as she didn’t want to believe that ben was alive, she could feel it in her heart to be true. she closed her eyes tightly, leaning her head to her uncle’s chest and trying to grapple with their reality. ben didn’t die, he just became the darkness.

anakin looked at lyra worriedly as she stumbled to her feet. he turned to gesture towards where his father and jaina had walked, but paused as garrick responded first. anakin looked between his master, and the savior of the jedi and shifted uncomfortably. he knew better than to get involved with their argument. besides, he’d already chosen his path. when garrick turned to him in exasperation as lyra stormed off. anakin shrugged his shoulders, “no way, i’m with her on this. you’re scared, garrick.” he muttered, shaking his head, "dunno if you’re scared of j or scared of losing her but lyras right. she needs us right now.” Anakin stated firmly, following off after lyra.

jaina finally lifted her head, looking up at her uncle worriedly, “uncle luke…he… said something. before he disappeared.” she began, her brothers words still echoing in her ears. two halves. before she could retell what her brother had said, poe had burst through the noise and was standing beside the jedi. the sight of him washed jaina over in relief, “flyboy!” she gasped. she nodded once to her uncle as he left, eager to continue their discussion, but poe’s presence had distracted her. jaina hadn’t realized that he had been who she was so worried about this whole time. the thought surprised her, “commander dameron i…i’m so glad you’re alright.” she reached her hand out to touch his arm gently. their contact sent a jolt of electricity through both of them, and a wide eyed jaina yanked her hand back with a gasp, “i-i’m sorry.” she cleared her throat, crossing her arms over her chest, “about the hanger too. i just…didn’t want you to get hurt.” she forced a small smile, looking up at him with still scared eyes. “were you hurt?” she began, “…was anyone hurt?” jaina asked softly. she looked up between Poe’s dark eyes before glancing around the base. some rebels were eying jaina, as mara attempted to calm the elder jedi. she met garricks eye, still feeling his fear. the storm in her gut swelled, and for a moment jaina thought she might be sick. she decided to lead poe into the temple, and away from the wandering eyes around them in an attempt to ease her anxiety. “how… how much did everyone see?” jaina asked quietly, although she already knew the answer. the way people were eying her spoke for itself. it wasn’t every day you saw a jedi wielding black force lightning.

ben felt the wind knock out of him as lyra responded. this…was real? it was hard to tell with the jedi. jaina’s cloud had corrupted ben’s connection to most everyone. he couldn’t see her, but he could hear her, and he could feel her. it was as clear as if she were standing in the room with him. her words stung, he could feel her disappointment behind them. it was different from when he’d reached to jaina. it was…clearer. “how are you doing this?“ kylo ren asked softly. it had taken him years to conjure up a storm like the one that nearly just swallowed jaina and lyra whole. he didn’t expect lyra to reach out with such clarity. with such ease. "it…doesn’t need to be this way.” kylo stated, clenching his fist, “i showed her what she’s capable of.” lyra’s pull to the light was strong. stronger than jaina’s even. kylo couldn’t risk her finding out his plans, this connection was different than anything he’d ever felt. kylo opened his eyes, severing the force connection between the two. he’d have to come back to this later, for now he had an attack to plan.

anakin jogged up behind lyra, calling her name as he approached. he raised a brow as she didn’t respond, so he called her name again when he was a bit closer. she stood in the dimmed temple hallway, speaking softly to herself. with one hand on his lightsaber, anakin slowly approached her. after what had just happened with jaina, they couldn’t be too careful. the darkness was suffocating. “lyra?“ anakin asked said, resting his hand on her shoulder as the force connection between her and ben was severed. anakins brows were furrowed together in concern. he could feel her energy, thrown off, cloudy. not to jaina’s extent but there was something deeply troubling her. her heart felt broken. “lee are you alright?” he asked softly as he looked down at her.

luke looked down at jaina worriedly, light blue eyes on her face as he bore witness to her internal struggle. his heart ached for his niece and for their family. knowing ben was alive and well was a reality that was difficult to face after spending the last few years mourning his death. ben wasn’t same the teenager cut down by a lightsaber as he’d been years ago, luke knew that. the fog storm and mental attack he’d performed on the jedi was the work of the sith. ben hadn’t just fallen into the dark, he’d been completely absorbed into it. “you need to learn to trust your feelings, jaina,” luke said softly, patting her shoulder gently. the shift in her demeanor at the sight of poe was welcome, but luke still felt great concern for his niece. he resolved to check in with her later on and let her catch up with her friend. 

garrick frowned at his padawan. “I don’t think that you understand the gravity of what’s just happened, anakin,” he said, shaking his head. he’d witnessed the sith first hand. the younger jedi had experienced their power at the battle at the temple, but their understanding of the heavy darkness the sith drew from was meek. he sighed as anakin stormed off to find lyra, shaking his head. garrick headed towards the temple, needing desperately to quiet his mind.

poe reached out for jaina at the same time as she reached for him, wanting to pull her into an embrace. he was so glad to see her well. the shock her fingers sent through him made him jolt, stumbling backwards a step. he looked down at his hand, clenching and unclenching his fist. the electricity between them had left his fingers singing. “no one was hurt, I think people are more shaken up than anything,” he nodded a bit, taking a moment to just look at her. even disheveled and shaken up, jaina solo remained one of the most stunning lifeforms he’d laid his eyes on. “I think the entire rebel base just realized they witnessed a powerful jedi end an attack single handedly,” he said softly, a smile pulling at his lips. “no one will stop talking about it, you’re a legend,” poe followed her lead as she walked towards the temple, not wanting to leave her side now that they were reunited. he felt drawn to her in a way he couldn’t describe. 

“jaina!” an orange skinned youngling rushed over to the pilot and jaina, her vibrant blue eyes wide. ahsoka clutched onto jaina’s arm gently, looking up at the other girl. “are you alright?” she asked softly, glancing up at poe once before looking back to jaina. she backed off a step, getting the feeling that she was interrupting. “what you did was amazing, you saved the base,” ahsoka smiled softly.

lyra let out a shaky breath, her head starting to throb as she mentally pushed against him. she wanted him out of her mind until she knew how he’d gotten in in the first place. “you would’ve let me die,” she said softly, shaking her head a little. her heart ached. all the love she’d had for ben, all the years she’d spent alongside him, and all the energy she’d spent grieving him left her here, trapped in a dialogue with him after the mental torment he’d just laid over the jedi, his sister included. she glanced down at her trembling hands, trying to calm her mind. “this isn’t you,” she managed, sucked out of the force space just as quickly as she’d been dragged into it. the touch of anakin’s hand on her shoulder pulled her back to reality. lyra gasped softly, her breath coming quickly. before she knew it, tears were streaming down her cheeks and running in cool paths into her tunic. “ani, I…” she couldn’t look him in the eye, she didn’t know how to explain this to him. she couldn’t explain this to him.

anakin looked over his shoulder at garrick, “i was at the temple garrick. this isn’t my first time dealing with the sith!” the teenager responded a bit snappily. the attack had all of the jedi on edge. it had been years since they felt an darkness of this nature. and, were he being honest with himself, he’d admit he held some anger for the way garrick assumed anakin was being trivial. anakin had lived through this before, he’d been present at the battle of the temple. he saw first hand the type of destruction the sith were capable of. he, like lyra, knew that they needed to band together, now more than ever. they needed to have hope.

jaina chewed her bottom lip, watching poe’s hand after she’d shocked him. when he was able to confirm no one (else) had been hurt, she let out a sigh of relief. “thank goodness.” she muttered. listening as he spoke. how simple it all sounded from an outsiders perspective. jaina didn’t think she did much at all. if anything, she was ashamed of what she’d done. especially of what she’d done to to lyra. she may have ended the fight but she certainly didn’t win anything. “that’s very flattering but…it’s…a lot more complicated than that.” jaina forced a thin smile as she looked up at poe. she felt warmed by him. his energy revived her. she opened her mouth to continue, but was interrupted as ahsoka ran up to her. “ahsoka?!” jaina questioned, shocked to see the young girl on d’qar, she squeezed her arms before pulling her in for a hug. “its so good to see you!“ jaina smiled at the young girl, "me? im…yeah, i’m fine.” she shrugged. “i’m…fine.” she shook her head once, trying to convince herself that was true. “when did you get here? do the elders know you’ve arrived?” she questioned curiously.

“we got here a little bit before the attack,” ahsoka explained a bit hesitantly, sensing jaina’s fear, “honestly i haven’t seen anyone yet, they just let us out of the ship once…once you cleared from the fog…” ahsoka trailed off, she wasn’t exactly sure of what had taken place, but she knew it was sith related. she could feel it. ahsoka glanced between jaina and the dark haired pilot that couldn’t take his eyes off of her. the youngling didn’t need the force to tell her there was something between them. “i…should go find master kenobi.” she smiled at her friend, “we’ll catch up later?” ahsoka hugged jaina again, and jaina hugged back tightly, “he’s cute.” ahsoka whispered, turning jaina’s cheeks pink as she waved to poe, heading off to find master kenobi.

jaina smiled as ahsoka left, trying to hide her embarrassment from poe, “that’s ahsoka tano. she’s a jedi youngling. ill give you a proper introduction later, I should be heading into the temple anyways. the jedi counsel is going to ask me what happened and I…don’t know how I’m gonna answer.” jaina let out a scoff of a laugh. the darkness pooled in her gut, and she crossed her arms over her chest before looking up and meeting poe’s gentle eyes again. again.“i uh, i hopefully will be working on the falcon after…all of this.” she gestured vaguely towards the temple halls, “i’d like it if you came by.” jaina suggested softly. poe’s energy was refreshing. she found herself wanting to be around him. "I…I may even be upset with you if you don’t.” jaina joked softly, nudging him in the arm and (to both of their relief) not sending a shock through their systems.

anakin looked down at lyra, his eyes softening as he felt her fall apart. “hey,” he said softly, pulling her into his arms, his hold on her warm and secure, “you don’t need to say anything lee.“ he comforted softly, "i’m here.” he assured softly. he tightened his grip, enveloping lyra in a secure embrace. he’d never felt anything like this from her. like there was a heavy darkness weighing her down. after a long moment, anakin ran his hand over lyra’s hair and tilted her head up to look at him, "my dad is going to brief my aunt and the elders about the attack. I bet J’s nearby. do you want to find her?” he asked softly. he knew how strong jaina and lyra’s bond was. the attack had shaken them up more than anyone. no one else really knew what took place within the fog except them. well, anakin knew what he saw. he’d begun to wonder if lyra and garrick had dark visions of their own.

“kenobi!” a loud booming voice interrupted garricks half meditation as he waited for the counsel to gather. zekk, a tall wild haired jedi waved to the calm master as he entered the temple. “long time no see.” zekk grinned, clapping a hand on garricks shoulder. “the youngling and I arrived right before the attack. hell of a lightning storm out there. you know where jaina’s at?” he asked, ignoring the fact that he was very obviously interrupting something. curiously, zekk glanced around the temple. he’d never been to d'qar before.

ahsoka rounded a corner, smiling as she saw lyra and anakin, “hey!” she called out before realizing they were in the middle of what seemed like a very personal conversation. her outburst gained their attention, and both of their faces turned to look over at her with surprise.

“ahsoka? what are you doing here? who..who brought you here?” anakin asked as he slowly released lyra from his embrace. he wanted desperately to hold onto her hand.

“zekk and I arrived a bit before the attack. I’m to find out who my master is.” she explained, a soft smile on her face as she gestured back towards the hangar. she had been so excited about this trip, but this attack had left the jedi shaken. ahsoka felt strange showing excitement when the attack had disrupted her friends peace like this. “the rebels had us on lockdown until the fog cleared.” she explained, “are you two alright?” ahsoka asked softly, sensing something different about lyra. the feeling made her uneasy.

poe looked at jaina, his dark eyes filled with hope. every step of the way for him had been a trial of trust, and his expectations had been surpassed at every moment. the jedi were more than good, they were the protectors of the galaxy and beyond. the rebellion was fighting to save lives and maintain peace. legends like master yoda and luke skywalker and han solo and princess leia organa were real, and they were badass. and here he was, standing before the sword of the jedi. jaina was the most impressive person he’d ever known, not to mention the most powerful. he believed she would be the key in defeating the sith, the key to the success of the resistance. the young woman that approached them and chatted with jaina seemed to look at her the same way, with the same respect that poe now had for her. he nodded to ahsoka tano as she left, a soft smile on his face before his gaze returned to jaina. the offer to meet her on the falcon later was welcome, and he had to hold himself back from saying ‘yes’ too quickly. “i’d love to,” he nodded, breaking into a grin. he felt his cheeks warm. “if you need any help with the ship,” he started, already regretting his words- of course she didn’t, she was jaina solo, for crying out loud. “i’m pretty good mechanic, if I do say so myself,” he rubbed the back of his neck with a soft laugh. smooth move, idiot, he thought to himself. open mouth, insert foot.

garrick groaned internally as zekk of all creatures cut through his thoughts, his light blue eyes opening to see the rugged man before him. he always looked so unkempt for a jedi. “hello there,” he said softly, following the tall man with his eyes as he began to poke around. jaina’s name coming out of his mouth made his blood boil. no one could lay claim to her, no one could ever have her- she was the one to choose, and she’d chosen garrick this time. he’d be damned if zekk weaseled his way back into the picture. their relationship was a tumultuous one anyway, it probably was best if zekk stayed away from her after the stress and strain of this day. “i’m not sure where she is exactly, my friend. she’s probably around somewhere,” garrick closed his eyes to return to his meditative state and will the man to go away.

“there she is!” zekk spotted jaina from behind, knowing the back of her like the back of his hand. the sound of zekk’s voice opened garrick’s eyes, and the master watched as the burly man approached jaina in a corner with… the pilot? he walked over with a cocky grin on his face, snaking his arms around her from behind as he approached. “the sword of the jedi,” zekk squeezed jaina against his chest, his wide arms wrapped around her. he kissed the side of her head and let her go, stepping to the side so he could get a better look at her. “i’ll be damned, kid, I hear you saved the day again huh,” he looked down at jaina with a grin before his eyes flashed to poe, a brow raising. “who’s this?”

“I could ask the same thing,” poe forced a polite smile, his gaze narrowed as he looked at the tall long haired man. he didn’t like the way this guy was looking at jaina, his attitude was off-putting.

lyra buried her face in anakin’s chest, a sob heaving through her. she felt violated after ben’s intrusion, and his return was shocking to say the least. it didn’t feel real. his voice echoed in her mind, his presence remaining with her. she felt sick. how had he done that, how had he reached her? the knot in her stomach tightened. would he do it again? “i… i’ll find jaina, i have to speak with her soon,” she said softly, her voice catching in her throat. at the sound of ahsoka’s voice, lyra turned her face away, swiftly wiping her tears away from her face. ani released her she took a few deep breaths to calm herself, forcing a small smile to the youngling. losing touch with anakin left her feeling cold. “you’re becoming a padawan? that’s amazing,” she said softly, nodding to the youngling. pride for the girl filled her chest, relieving some of the pain she was feeling. “don’t worry about us,” she reached out and touched ahsoka’s arm gently, rubbing her thumb over her orange skin. “no one was hurt,” she smiled softly as she lied through her teeth. her mind ached terribly after ben’s presence. she paused. “wait, did you say zekk brought you?”

ahsoka bobbed her head in a nod, sensing something off about lyra. this was deeply unsettling, the only emotions she’d seen lyra show were joy and contentment. “yeah, he picked me up from the temple on greedin,” she looked up at the older teenagers with a hint of worry in her eyes. “any idea what this council meeting is about?”

“probably about the rise of the sith,” lyra said with a soft sigh, glancing away from ahsoka to scan the room for jaina and her ex-fling. now was a good time as any for a little rescue mission. she spotted them quickly by reaching for jaina’s energy- agitation. “if you’ll excuse me,” she said without looking at either anakin or ahsoka, hustling over to the little crowd of zekk, jaina, and commander dameron. “jaina!” she raised a hand in a partial wave as she approached, wrapping her arms tightly around her other half as the girls reunited.

jaina cracked a grin as poe spoke of his handiwork. he had an absolutely genuine charm about him. he was unlike anyone she’d met in a long time, and she was eager to get to know him more. her mother had been telling her about this ‘commander dameron’ for ages. it was one of the only reasons jaina had entertained the idea of him. in the past, jaina had always kept to herself anytime they were on a rebel base. she felt like she had to live up to the title as the sword of the jedi. and before that, she felt like she needed to live up to the legend of han solo and leia organa. she thought it was better to seclude herself rather than disappoint the people who believed in her. “I’m not sure, flyboy,” jaina cracked a smirk. “according to that cute blonde pilot earlier, you don’t sound like much of a mechanic.” jaina teased, biting into her bottom lip. "lucky for you, I’m a great teacher.” jaina added with a wink. she forgot how fun it was to flirt. while her relationship with garrick was thrilling, it was also incredibly secretive. he was a jedi master. he may as well have been her master, which made their relationship all the more taboo. they couldn’t hold hands, or kiss, or do any of the things a normal couple would. at least not in public. are we even technically a couple?

the sensation of arms snaking around her waist not only snapped jaina out of her head, but also made the dark pit swell in her gut. “zekk?!” jaina questioned as he kissed her cheek. she was visibly annoyed and quite alarmed at how he’d chosen to greet her. after just suffering an intensely personal sith mind attack, the last thing she wanted was someone grabbing her like that. her brothers voice still so fresh in her ears. there was desperation in the way he said sister. “I wish you would reconsider your way of greeting people.” jaina muttered, adjusting her robes, “you almost got a lightsaber to the throat.” she scoffed, securing her lightsaber as she spoke to him before glancing between poe and zekk and very clearly sensing their dislike of one another. well, this is a nightmare. “commander dameron, this is jedi knight zekk, zekk, this is my friend commander poe dameron, of the resistance.“ jaina gestured between the two men, offering poe a soft apologetic smile.

“that’s all the introduction you give an old friend, j?” zekk scoffed, looking over at poe. he wrapped an arm around jaina’s shoulder, pulling her into his side, “i knew this one before she was the sword of the jedi.” he bragged. jaina clenched her jaw. she looked at poe with visible annoyance as zekk continued, "remember how much trouble we got in on savareen?” zekk smirked lowly, his hand sliding down her back. "your dad was so mad at me. the scar he gave me is quite the story. how many people can say they got shot by han solo for sle-” zekk cut himself off as lyra approached, but not before giving jaina’s ass one quick squeeze. for old times sake.

lyra’s voice caught jaina’s attention instantly, and her eyes shot to her friend. “thank the gods.” she muttered as lyra crossed to her, and jaina had an excuse to step away from zekk (who she was quite ready to punch) and envelope lyra in a secure embrace. we have so much to discuss. the young pilot force projected to her friend, holding her tightly for a long moment, before resting her forehead against her friends. both girls trying to ease the others pain with the force. she too could sense something had affected lyra. they couldn’t discuss it here, but jaina wondered if she had heard ben’s voice too.

anakin watched lyra beeline to jaina, his brows still furrowed in concern. he resolved to ask lyra about it later. it was hard to have a personal conversation in public when the true nature of your relationship is a secret. anakin was eased as lyra and jaina embraced. when united, they were far more powerful than they were apart. “c’mon ahsoka, we can call this your first rescue mission.” anakin joked as he led the youngling over to lyra and the others. anakin nodded to poe, having saw the young pilot out on the hangar with jaina helping secure planes and evacuate civilians. anakin was beginning to have a great respect for him. “commander.” anakin nodded to poe politely. "sorry about nearly crashing into you with a lightsaber earlier. thank you for getting the pilots to safety.” he nodded his head again.

zekk let out a hearty chuckle, “anakin skywalker? you’ve surely sprouted.” the tall man grinned, holding a hand in the air at anakins shoulder, “think you were about here last time I saw you.” he teased, nudging the blonde in the side.

“hello to you too, zekk. surprised you found d'qar.” anakin shrugged, sarcasm dripping off every word. his distaste for the wild haired jedi was shared with his master. zekk was always too much.

“well I’m no skywalker or solo, but I know how to pilot a ship.” zekk continued, blissfully unaware of anakins sarcasm. it was kind of fun with zekk. sure, he was extraordinarily unconventional, but he was always fun. well, very annoying, but a good heart underneath it. (at least that’s what jaina told herself.) (his talent between the sheets was didn’t hurt her opinion of him either.) “and, if it isn’t the savior of the jedi herself.” zekk smiled as jaina and lyra let go of one another, settling instead on holding hands. zekk lifted lyras free hand, planting a soft kiss on her knuckle, “master galora, a pleasure as always. you’re lovelier each time I see you.” he smiled. anakin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as the brazen jedis behavior.

luke emerged from the temple, first spotting garrick as he attempted to calm his mind. this day had exhausted all of them. luke would check in with all four young jedi later. each of them had a darkness pooling within them, ben had truly succeeded in disturbing the order. “the counsel is ready master kenobi. where are the others-” he cut himself off, sensing that garrick had been trying very hard to ignore the gathering in the corner. luke looked over to the group, raising a brow in curiosity, “they sent zekk to bring ahsoka?“ luke mumbled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. zekk was a fine jedi, but he also had a way of disrupting the other jedis peace. especially garrick’s. and, on top of that, han and leia weren’t going to be all too pleased to see him. not after the last time they’d seen zekk; when han had found him entangled with his daughter (and left the boy with a nasty blaster scar on his thigh). "do you want to gather them or should i?” luke asked his first padawan. he and garrick had a special bond. before anakin had been born, garrick was quite practically luke’s son. luke has a special place in his heart for the young man.

lyra smoothed a hand over her friend’s hair, looking her over carefully. “are you alright?” she breathed, cautiously looking jaina over for any physical wounds. after all of the chaos, all that lyra cared about was the safety and wellbeing of those closest to her. checking on jaina was also a welcome mental distraction from the assault they’d received from the sith. lyra tucked some of jaina’s hair back behind her ear and straightened her friend’s tunic. 

poe felt a prickling heat on the back of his neck at the sight of zekk’s arms around jaina, the jedi’s reaction to his presence was off-putting. he very obviously was making her uncomfortable, and he was either stupid, or he didn’t care. poe instantly disliked him. “funny, i’ve never heard of you, zeke,” the pilot crossed his arms over his chest, staring up at the tall man coldly.

“it’s zekk, and I find that pretty hard to believe,” he shook his head with a laugh, a hint of frustration in his voice. “me and these two go way back,” he thumbed towards lyra and jaina, who just looked at each other. when he pressed his lips to lyra’s hand, she tried not to visibly cringe. 

gods, he’s insufferable, lyra snapped mentally. she could feel jaina’s smirk. “you flatter me, but i’m no master yet,” she blinked as he boasted of his piloting skills, laughing internally. “if I do recall, zekk, the last time we saw you, you were stranded on malastare after you crashed your ship,” she smiled at him, batting her lashes once.

“well, the fuel line was damaged, and-”

“and you couldn’t fix it yourself on board, it’s alright, everyone needs a little saving sometimes,” lyra nodded a little. she glanced to anakin, smiling at him as his expression softened. she felt more like herself, playfully navigating her way through this conversation with jedi douchebag himself. even when they were in closer proximity, when jaina had found herself wrapped up in him- literally- lyra always found him too cocky, too prideful. it was unbecoming of a jedi. she understood jaina’s fascination, as there was nothing quite like having the upper hand on a man like this, but she didn’t have the patience to venture into that territory herself. she’d spent a lot of energy begging jaina to find someone more worthy of her time back in the day, and things had been looking up lately. while garrick was much more up to par, lyra had a gut feeling it wouldn’t last between them.

poe looked up to anakin and smiled, nodding once. “hey, it’s alright. you were just doing your job,” the pilot couldn’t blame anakin for their run in, there was so much disorder at the time, and they all made it out alive. “speaking of the pilots, I should get them together and brief them on what we know,” he looked over at jaina with a soft sigh, not wanting to leave her. “i’ll see ya later?” he asked her, smiling when she nodded her head. “it was nice to meet you ahsoka, zack,” he shot lyra a wink, utilizing the same name trick she had the previous day that had made his brother feel like an ass.

“it’s zekk,” the tall man narrowed his eyes, frowning. poe waved to them all, eyes lingering on jaina for another moment, a smile stuck on his face as he went off to go meet with the other pilots in his squadron.

lyra looped her arm through jaina’s as the girls stood together, weaving the other arm through ahsoka’s. the youngling smiled proudly, glancing up at lyra and jaina. she’d been part of their little crew since the beginning, they’d been dreaming for years that she’d get to be one of their padawans. the girls had a lot of love for her.

garrick opened his eyes, letting out a breath. he’d managed to mostly rid his mind of zekk, and this reminder was unwelcome, even if it was coming from master luke. garrick stood up from where he’d sat, brushing his hands down his top once as he looked over at luke. “I don’t know who thought that would be a good idea, truly,” he looked over at the group and back to his master, raising his brows slightly. “it may be better if you go, I think you’re one of two people in the galaxy he has respect for. do we even want him here for this council meeting?” he asked softly, his light blue eyes wandering back to the group.

“well, I don’t know where else we’d put him, back on his ship?” luke and garrick met each other’s eyes, and both of them chuckled. wouldn’t that be a thought. “i’ll go get them,” luke smiled softly and patted garrick’s shoulder, leaving the younger man standing in the temple. the elders, yoda and ki adi mundi, entered, followed by kit fisto, shaak ti, and adi gallia. garrick bowed to them respectfully, greeting them all as they approached.

“garrick kenobi, strong you are,” master yoda walked slowly, his cane softly thudding the ground as he came in.

“thank you, master yoda,” he said softly, warmth flooding his chest. any compliment from the legend was taken immediately to heart.

“a wise master you are, a wise master you have made,” the short green being nodded once. garrick’s mouth fell open a bit, glancing at the other council members, who all smiled at him knowingly.

jaina shrugged her shoulders as lyra asked if she was alright. “trying to be. are you?” she whispered to her friend, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “your poor buns.” jaina joked softly. ever her father’s daughter, she needed to lighten the mood. everything was so tense. now that she could take a moment and assess lyra, she was calming down a bit. the storm within her eased as jaina looked her over carefully. she had to hold back laughter as poe and lyra tormented zekk in the same way that they’d tortured poe’s brother the day before.

“you know what’s funny, zekk? our fuel line was damaged last week and we didn’t crash land…” anakin recalled, looking between lyra and jaina, and holding his chin in his hand the way garrick often did. in truth, he and lyra piloted the ship while jaina worked on the repairs. being with the sword and savior of the jedi made anakin feel unstoppable. he couldn’t help but brag about it.

“well it pays to have jaina solo aboard your ship, dear cousin.” she smirked up at anakin who let out a chuckle, before she turned back to poe with a soft smile, “I’ll see you later, commander. I’m looking forward to it.” jaina watched him leave for a moment, earning looks from ahsoka and lyra at just how she watched poe leave. the brunette shrugged, squeezing ahsokas arm as the trio linked arms. “quite an eventful first day on d'qar youngling tano.” jaina smiled down at the orange skinned girl as her uncle luke walked up, interrupting whatever zekk was about to ramble about.

“hello youngling tano,” luke smiled down at the young jedi, “it’s a pleasure to see you. I see that you’ve located jaina, lyra and anakin. why don’t the four of us head into the temple?” luke suggested, turning his attention to zekk, “padawan zekk, would you guard the entrance to the temple? after the attack that just took place, the elders and I would all feel much safer with you at the guard.“

zekk, suddenly much more proper than he’d been, nodded his head and bowed to Luke. "master skywalker it would be my honor.” the tall jedi bowed at the waist, leaving luke to lead anakin, lyra, jaina, and ahsoka into the temple.

“why…why’d you ask zekk of all people to guard the door, dad?” anakin asked curiously once they were inside. luke let out a soft chuckle,

“I figured it would be in everyone’s best interest if we didn’t reunite him and han.” luke smiled down at his son, niece, and lyra. he could sense all of their relief, and chuckled softly in unison with lyra.

jaina smiled as she saw her parents, offering ahsoka and lyra a soft apology as she hurried to wrap her arms around both han and leia at the same time. leia and han both held jaina close. their family had been through so much. two fifths had been torn away from them. luke could feel the deep sadness dwelling within all three of the solos. his heart ached for them. he’d briefed han and leia before entering the temple. he figured it would be better for them to hear the news of ben from him rather than the counsel as a whole.

“much to discuss we have.” master yoda’s voice gained the rooms attention. jaina’s eyes wandered to garrick, she could sense his spirit lifted. she’d become very atune to his emotions, giving how much time the two spent together. she smiled softly, unsure what had brought him such happiness, but reveling in the warm feeling it brought her. the ease it brought her. the solo family stood side by side, hands interlocked as luke took his seat beside mara.

“I’m sure we’re all aware of what just took place here on d'qar.” luke began, looking around the room as he spoke. “this meeting was called before the attack, but it would be foolish of us to not discuss it in detail.” luke explained calmly, his eyes scanning over the group infront of him. “jaina, would you like to tell the elders what you experienced?” he asked his niece. luke was able to see the attack from jaina’s perspective as he hugged her outside. her words would be the most accurate. the jedi needed to be fully aware of what they were dealing with.

jaina, her heart shooting into her throat, inhaled deeply. she nodded once, squeezing her parents hands, and glancing to garrick, anakin, ahsoka, and lyra for reassurance as she stepped forward. she took in another deep breath as she looked at the elder jedi, “masters,” jaina bowed her head out of respect, “I…I had been exploring the planet with commander dameron. it’s been a while since we’ve had extended time on a rebel base,” jaina gestured to her friends before looking back at the counsel. “while we were out, I…the voice of my brother jacen came to me.” she explained softly, looking at her lighting scarred hands before back up to the counsel, “he…he has been coming to me in my dreams for some time now.” she said softly, “I kept this information to myself,” she lied, “jacen warned me to be vigilant for…for ben.” she explained, feeling the sadness tear through her parents at the sound of his name. “upon returning to the base, the storm had rolled in. and while assisting in evacuation and securing the rebellions ships, I…I heard my brother.” she exhaled, clenching and unclenching her fists as she tried to let go of her anger. “he…he manipulated me…took control of my body…” she continued, looking down at her hands and finding her vision to be tunneling as she continued, “my…anger… manifested…again in force lightning.“ she took a breath, clenching her fists, "my uncle, master skywalker, has helped me to face the truth i’ve been ignoring since the day i thought he died.” jaina inhaled deeply, “my brother ben has fallen to the dark side.”

lyra laughed and nodded in agreement with luke, admiring his plan to keep zekk out of it. the last thing they needed was for han to do more damage then the lightning storm had. she smiled softly as jaina hurried towards her parents, her eyes following her friend. the connection between the three remaining solos was so visceral, so loving and real. she adored han and leia as if they were her own family. lyra watched jaina step forward, sending her reassurance as her fellow jedi spoke to the council. the dark haired girl stood alongside ahsoka, the pair of them listening intently. the mention of ben’s name brought lyra’s hazel eyes to the floor. so jaina had felt him too, his attack was directed at her. how had he gotten into lyra’s mind? she glanced up at jaina as she spoke, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling to calm herself down. ahsoka glanced in her direction, rubbing her arm gently. she assumed lyra was reliving the attack, which was partially true, but she was haunted deeply by ben’s mental intrusion. 

garrick listened to jaina intently, concern crossing his face. he could sense jaina’s torment as she spoke of the day and felt sick with guilt as she mentioned jacen. she’d been trying to tell him and he didn’t listen. the members of the council glanced at each other, other jedis in the room gasped as jaina confirmed what many had feared- the rise of the sith, and its claim to fallen jedi.

“brave you are, padawan solo,” master yoda bowed his head to jaina. “careful we must be, moving forward. growing strong, the sith are.”

“as master skywalker said, this meeting had been called before the attack, and the attack only further solidifies how important this meeting truly is,” shaak ti gestured towards luke, her eyes scanning the room. “thank you, jaina. by breaking up the storm, you saved countless lives,” she rested a hand on her chest over her heart, a soft smile on her face as she looked at the young solo. “your title is well earned, sword of the jedi.”

“after much discussion, we as a whole have decided to add an eighth member to the council with the hopes of one day being twelve strong again,” adi gallia began, looking to luke. the group had asked him to officially announce garrick’s appointal, as they all knew how close he was to luke. the jedi needed to remain stronger together if they were to defeat the sith, which meant cultivating hope and peace.

luke rose from where he sat beside his wife, stepping forward. “it is with great honor that I offer you a seat on this council. you have proved yourself an exemplary member of the jedi, and we all feel that this is well deserved,” he smiled softly. “master kenobi, will you stand alongside us and better our forces?”

garrick’s chest swelled with pride. he felt emotional, validated. “it would be an honor, master skywalker,” he bowed his head, taking a deep breath as he approached the council. it was then that he realized there had been an eighth seat present this entire time. garrick stepped up to the seat and stood before it, his hands shaking as he stood proudly. he was over the moons with happiness. lyra clapped for her friend, starting a round of applause throughout the room. 

“master kenobi, please take your seat,” luke nodded to him, and garrick sat down on the left of ki adi mundi himself. he felt like he was dreaming. “this brings me to our next order of business. we have a youngling in our midst, and she has proved herself worthy of becoming a padawan. the council has chosen a worthy master, who we feel is an excellent match for young ahsoka.“

lyra squeezed ahsoka’s hand gently, looking over at her with a smile. luke knew how close the girls were with the youngling, surely jaina’s act in saving the base was enough to earn her the title of master. lyra bubbled with excitement.

luke looked to his son, pride in his eyes. he sat down, and adi gallia rose.

“padawan skywalker, it’s become clear to the council that the time to become a master is upon you. you will take on ahsoka tano as your padawan and together, you two will learn great things,” master gallia smiled as she stood before the group.

caught off guard, lyra looked from her best friend to anakin, and then to ahsoka, who was looking at anakin excitedly herself.

jaina smiled softly at masters yoda and shaak ti praised her acts. it still felt…wrong, though. the use of her force lightning terrified her. it was everything that a jedi isn’t - wild, visceral, destructive. the brown haired jedi nodded her head to the elders before stepping back to her parents. she smiled as her adi galla spoke of adding an eighth member to the council. jaina found her eyes trailing over to garrick, and shot him a small smile when she was able to catch his glance. as her uncle said his name, jaina felt her lovers pride. she let the feeling in, easing the tension within her. she eagerly clapped her hands, smiling proudly at garrick as he officially took his seat at the council.

anakin watched his master, his own chest swelling with pride for garrick. the two had practically grown up as brothers. anakin had been so excited when luke and the elders told him that garrick kenobi would be the jedi to help guide anakin to mastering the jedi practices. when his father continued, discussing who would be the master to the newly named padawan tano, anakin glanced over to jaina. after her heroic feat, he was sure that the jedi council was going to name jaina as the next jedi master. when adi gallia rose from her seat and addressed him, anakin’s jaw dropped.

jaina’s head whipped to her cousin, and pride filled her chest. anakin had worked so hard and come so far, she couldn’t think of a better person to take young ahsoka under their wing. besides, anakin, lyra, and jaina were pretty inseparable themselves. this was a blessing for all of them!

anakin, still dumbfounded, looked around the room. taking in everyone’s proud faces. his father, his mother, his master and best friend. the jedi council, his aunt and uncle, jaina, lyra, and now, his padawan. anakin nodded to the council, “i accept this great honor, and greater duty with humility.” anakin said, looking up to his father with a smile. he could feel how proud both him, and his mother, were of the new jedi master. anakin then turned to ahsoka, “welcome to the crew, snips.” he smiled, bowing to her. “i’m honored to be your master.”

leia smiled at her nephew. it was refreshing, after an emotional day like this, to feel some calmness and warmth in the force again. “on behalf of the rebellion, i’d like to extend congratulations to the newest council member, master kenobi.” leia smiled to the young man who now sat in the eighth chair, “and to you, master skywalker, i always knew this day would come. your uncle and i are so proud of you.” leia smiled, resting her hand on han’s chest as she spoke. “but i’m afraid i must request the jedi’s assistance.” she continued, “with…the revelation that my daughter spoke of. i believe it’s in our shared interest that we…” leia paused, the words failing to fall from her mouth. “we need to find him, luke.” she said softly, a bit of humility to her tone as she looked at her brother.

jaina’s breath caught in her throat as her mother spoke. she looked over to lyra, both girls knowing that this was a mission they needed to see through. the connection that the group had to ben was too valuable to give up. jaina looked up at her uncle, “master, if i may,” she asked. luke nodded his head to continue, “as the sword of the jedi, and…ben’s sister,” the words felt odd on her tongue, “i would like to ask that me and my friends,” she gestured to lyra, anakin, and ahsoka, “with the help and guidance of master kenobi,” she added, looking up at garrick, “be assigned to this mission.”

anakin nodded his head, his hand on ahsoka’s shoulder, “he was our friend.” he looked at lyra, then over to jaina, before up to garrick and finally his father, “he’s…he is our family.” anakin added, smiling softly at his aunt and uncle before looking back up to his parents, “please, give us the chance to bring him back to the light.” anakin echoed the words his father once spoke about his father. jaina clenched her jaw, her gut turning. she wanted revenge.

lyra used the force to squeeze anakin’s hand gently, her face lighting up in a smile. while he wasn’t what she’d expected, she remained happy for him- he worked incredibly hard, he deserved this. ahsoka excitedly approached anakin and stood by his side.

master gallia stepped towards the pair, extending ahsoka’s padawan beads to anakin for him to fasten. she turned her attention to leia as she stepped back to take her seat, folding her hands in her lap.

luke nodded his head, looking to the rest of the council for approval. they all seemed to be in agreement.

“only the jedi can save him,” adi said, her eyes traveling from luke to leia. “of course we’ll help you,” she nodded her head.

luke looked at his niece, knowing she was right. she knew ben better than anyone else, and there was no turning away from that truth. “master kenobi, are you up to the task?” luke’s gaze moved to the young man sitting at the end of the council row. garrick nodded his head confidently, looking over at their little rag tag crew with pride.

“absolutely,” he smiled softly. he would be more than honored to lead this mission. he felt so much pride in his padawan for his accomplishment, and empathy for what jaina was going through. he had been waiting to speak with her since everything transpired, but with this new appointment he’d become distracted. his gaze returned to her face, meeting her eye from across the room. i’m here for you, he pushed forward through the force, bowing his head slightly. her padawan status didn’t change the fact that jaina was the strongest woman he knew. he would support her as long as she’d let him. locating her brother would take a toll on them all, but on her especially. this wasn’t going to be easy, but he was willing to put in the work. this needed to be done.

“be vigilant, you must be,” master yoda glanced between the young group. “stronger together, you are.”

lyra stepped forward, taking her place between ahsoka and jaina. she was up to the task, as much as it scared her. she wanted to help the solos, and deep in her heart, she wanted to help ben. 

jaina bowed her head to garrick, receiving his message and responding with a soft, ‘i know’. the pilot turned to her parents, squeezing her mother’s hand, “we won’t disappoint you.” she stated firmly, looking between han and leia, before looking up at the jedi council, “we won’t disappoint any of you.” she nodded to the council, taking lyra’s hand and squeezing it gently.

“you never could.” han mumbled to the girls, looking down at jaina and lyra with a heart full of pride. he’d watched them grow into two, beautiful, ferocious, determined young women. jaina glanced to her father, smiling softly as he spoke.

“we’ll get supplies sent immediately from savareen,” ki adi mundi stated, looking to garrick, then the young jedi that stood infront of him, “you will face terrible things on this mission, young jedi.” he stated seriously. “but you will learn, about yourselves, about each other, and about the force.“

“you have saved the jedi once,” shaak ti spoke, looking between anakin, lyra, and jaina, “we now must ask you to once again, protect our order.”

“victorious will you be, but the force, you must use.” master yoda nodded.

luke stood up from his seat, “we’ll prepare for your mission in the millenium falcon, if han solo allows it-“

jaina opened her mouth to protest, but before she could han scoffed, “oh come on luke we all know it’s her ship now anyways!” he shook his head, gesturing to his daughter. he never was really one to understand (or respect) the formal intricacies of the jedi.

luke stared at his brother and law, rolling his eyes before turning his attention back to anakin, ahsoka, lyra and jaina. jaina looked at her father dumbfounded, before looking back ahead at luke, “we’ll plan for your expedition to begin in two days.”

“if we call for supplies now we should have them here by noon tomorrow.” mara looked around the council, “that should give you enough time padawan solo, to make the repairs and preparations the ship requires for this mission.” mara smiled at her padawan, proud of how far she had come, she turned to face garrick, “master kenobi, you will work closely with both master skywalker, and general organa-solo. I fear the fate of the jedi and the rebellion is in your hands.” she continued, looking down at her son, niece, lyra, and ahsoka, “you have the force within you.” the red haired woman smiled to the group.

“and the force of the rebellion army behind you, if necessary.” leia looked from the jedi masters, to the jedi knights that stood beside them, a soft smile on her face. “i’ll need to go brief the rebellion to the plan. master skywalker?” leia gestured to her brother who nodded his head, standing from his seat.

“given the days events, this meeting is adjourned. may the force be with all of us.” luke nodded to his fellow council members, before he and his sister exited the room. luke stopped, suggesting to zekk that he report to the hanger to perform some maintenance on his ship. leia had a far better pokerface than han.

“you better take care of the falcon, kid.” han looked down at his daughter seriously, before pulling her into a hug. he pat her back, before turning to lyra, “and you, keep an eye on em for me. won’t ya?” he smiled, pulling her into a hug, “you’re the only one they ever listened to.” han muttered into lyra’s ear. he pulled away, turning to congratulate anakin on his promotion to master, then head out after his wife and luke. chatting with mara jade along the way.

jaina turned her attention to ahsoka, wrapping the newly named padawan in a hug, “i’m so happy for you!” she beamed, squeezing her friend tightly before letting her go, both girls laughing happily. anakin chuckled, the joy this news had brought them felt extraordinary. ahsoka had been their friend for years. he knew that the girls were quite inseparable. jaina smiled at her cousin, pulling him into a hug next, “ani! you’re so grown up! master skywalker!?” she smiled, ruffling his hair.

anakin laughed, shaking his head. “alright, alright j, the four of us have a lot we need to talk about.” he looked from lyra, to jaina, then down to ahsoka. “let’s reconvene at the falcon?” he suggested. he knew that the group needed to discuss what had happened today. jaina’s retelling was horrifying, and if they were going to bring ben back to the light, they needed to know everything they could about the situation. anakin looked over his shoulder at garrick, “master kenobi, will you be joining us?”

lyra pulled ahsoka into a tight hug when jaina let her go, beaming. “padwan tano, what a ring that has,” she pulled back and looked her friend in her bright blue eyes. ahsoka was so deserving. she was the top of her class, incredibly bright and quick on her feet. lyra saw a lot of herself in the young woman, and felt very close to her. knowing she’d be around them more frequently, especially with this mission, was incredibly comforting. she released ahsoka, turning her gaze to anakin, her anakin. master skywalker. “congratulations,” she pulled her arms around his neck, smiling against his skin. she wanted to hold him longer, feel the bulk of him in arms, but she let him go reluctantly, her eyes lingering on his face. “recon at the falcon sounds like the perfect plan, master skywalker,” she said softly, her accented voice lilting over his newfound title. it sounded perfect, like it was always meant to be that way. she wanted to say it forever. 

garrick approached the group, smiling proudly at anakin. he clapped him on the shoulder and pulled the young man into an embrace. “of course i’ll be joining you, i’m supervising this mission, after all, aren’t I?” he said with a soft smile. he looked around the group before his eyes returned to his padawan. “this is well earned, anakin. congratulations, my friend,” he nodded his head. he had an immense amount of pride and respect for anakin. he’d come a long way, and he’d learned so much. garrick had watched him grow as a jedi and as a man, and it showed in his actions now. he was ready for a padwan, garrick knew in his heart. “perhaps it’s best if we discuss the mission on the falcon now, where we can have a bit more privacy?” he suggested, glancing between the group and then nodding towards a small crowd of fellow jedi within earshot. in silent agreement, they headed out, lyra slipping her hands into the pockets of her tunic as she walked beside ahsoka and jaina. she glanced up and caught garrick looking at her friend and found herself smirking, having heard most of their secrets straight from the bantha’s mouth.

“what’re you so smiley about?” ahsoka nudged her in the ribs with her elbow, a smirk on her own face.

“oh nothing,” lyra said with a laugh, glancing at jaina and meeting her eye. she force projected to her the image of garrick’s face as he watched the young woman walk ahead of him, and both girls burst into laughter.

anakin smiled as lyra wrapped him in an embrace. he buried his face in her hair, holding her close as he force projected, “I can’t wait until we’re alone later.” the blonde reluctantly pulled away, slowly trailing his fingers down lyra’s arm as to have an excuse to be close to her, just for a second longer. he nodded his head to his master as garrick approached. anakins face turned to a bright smile as they embraced, “I wouldn’t be the master I am today if not for you, master.” the newly named master smiled, looking up at garrick before over to ahsoka, unable to stop smiling.

jaina nodded in agreement with garrick as he proposed they head to the falcon. “I’ll start a pot of coffee. and I could use a change of clothes.” she half joked as the group headed towards the millennium falcon. jaina’s ship. the pride that the falcon gave her widened her smile. there was no ship in the galaxy that could ever compare. jaina laughed with lyra as her friend force projected garrick’s look to her. despite how secretive their relationship was, jaina loved whenever garrick even slightly let his guard drop. she brushed her fingers against his as they walked, “I hope we can still be together tonight.” she force projected to him, keeping her eyes on the ship. “a proper congratulations is in order, master.” she taunted him through the force as she passed him again, glancing over her shoulder at him with a smirk as she boarded the falcon first. shutting off the lockdown procedures. “come on!” jaina smiled as she looked down at her friends, waving them aboard. she embraced the moment. after the troubling events of the day, getting to invite her closest friends in the universe onto the falcon. her ship! there was no feeling quite like it.

ahsoka looked up at the millennium falcon with wide eyes. traveling the universe with jaina and lyra had felt like a pipe dream for so long. ahsoka looked around with stars in her eyes, committing this moment to memory. “she’s beautiful.” ahsoka smiled at the ship, running her hand over the metal as she boarded. her words made jaina smile as she headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

“wait till you see her in action.” jaina smiled proudly. she’d poured tons of hours into adapting the falcon. the once smugglers ship looked unrecognizable in places. han had extended the crews quarters when the twins were born, and then again with jacen. the falcon now had five small bedrooms. traditionally, one was for han and leia, one for jaina, one for jacen, one ben, and an extra for chewie, or luke. now, the rooms housed jaina, lyra, anakin, and garrick. (though the boys, more often than not, found themselves tangled up with the girls). "ahsoka let me change real quick and I’ll show you to your room. lowie’s been using it for a while,” she paused, “aw man he’s gonna be so mad at me.” she frowned, knowing their wookie friend would want to be included on this mission, “maybe I’ll build you a new room…” jaina mulled over then idea as she headed down the hall. she pulled her shirt off on the way, ducking into her room to change and brush her hair.

anakin settled onto the ship, looking down at ahsoka with a smile as she took in the falcons glory for the first time. “ah great. ten minutes into the mission and jainas already gonna hold us up with renovations.” anakin teased, stealthily grabbing lyra’s butt as he snuck past her towards the coffee.

“I can help!” ahsoka smiled brightly as she sat at the table in the galley. “I’m a pretty good mechanic. I had to help zekk with his ship on the way here…more than once.” she giggled. anakin let out a loud laugh,

“knew it.” he scoffed, impatiently watching the coffee brew.

jaina emerged from her room, redressed in fresh black robes, and her hair pulled back in a half up braid. “enough about him.” she stated as she cut infront of anakin for some coffee. she earned a scoff from her cousin who prepared a cup for himself, and gathered another for lyra. jaina took a sip, leaning against the padded wall, “we need to talk about what happened in the fog.” she looked from anakin, to garrick, to lyra. “…lee did you see anything? …hear anything?” jaina asked softly. lyra was the only person jaina knew for sure had entered, she needed to know what the other jedi saw.

lyra followed their crew aboard, running her fingers along the padded walls as she boarded. this ship had taken them on plenty of journeys, it was a traveling home. she swatted at anakin with a little laugh as he snuck past her, unclipping her lightsaber from her belt and setting it on the table in the main hold. she slid onto the couch and pulled a knee up to her chest, resting her chin on it. “as much as he boasts, I don’t think zekk’s capable of actually doing anything on his own,” she said with a smirk, earning a laugh from ahsoka.

“you’re right, the more I think about it,” the younger girl rested her head back against the plush leather with a smile.

“ani, will you get me a cup of coffee?” lyra looked over at the tall blonde man as he stood across the room, a twinkle in her eye. she looked over at jaina as her friend spoke, letting out a breath. the air seemed to sink down on them as she brought up the fog, the weight of it sitting on her chest. “I… I don’t know what I saw exactly,” she looked down at the table, running a finger along one of the metallic ridges that edged the surface. her memories were pieces, in and out glimpses of what had happened. “I thought I saw myself, and I was choking me,” she let out a breath, her voice soft. she glanced up at jaina, meeting her eye. “it was you, I know that now, but in my head I could’ve sworn it was me,” she shook her head. it was a horrible mind trick, if anything, and it was haunting.

garrick had been leaning against the wall in the doorway, pondering what they said. “I saw myself on the dark side, yellow eyed and all,” he shook his head a bit, glancing around at the group. “it got into all of our heads, I don’t think the sith were ever this powerful…” he sighed softly, worry creasing his forehead. “back at the temple, their power was in their numbers. if this attack was just ben…” he shook his head. he couldn’t imagine what a number of them could do to the jedi if ben was capable of this alone.

jaina scoffed, “trust me, there’s some things zekk does very well.” she smirked to herself before lyra began retelling what she experienced in the fog. the young pilot felt a chill run down her spine as her friend spoke. so, jaina’s assumption was correct. lyra had seen a vision. “i…i didn’t know that was you lee.” jaina said softly, “you know i would never do anything to hurt you.” jaina said as she crossed back to the coffee pot after anakin gathered himself and lyra a cup. she poured one for garrick as he spoke, turning to him, concern covering her face, “i…i didn’t even know you were in the fog…” jaina said softly as she handed him the cup. she looked at garrick, there were so many things she wanted to ask him.

“j…we were all in there with you.” anakin said softly, looking between garrick and lyra. he’d been able to feel both of them in the storm, until that is, they neared jaina. “i wonder if this has something to do with how close we all were to ben…” anakin suggested, looking around the group. jaina tensed even further at his name. “i…mean, we grew up beside him. the visions we saw in the fog…ben knows us. he knows our fears…” anakin began, “being named after our grandfather, ive always feared following in his footsteps…” anakin sighed, shaking his head, “i either saw myself on the dark side or i saw vader and either way…” he trailed off, sinking down at the table across from ahsoka. “what if ben’s using our fears against us?”

“i…i didn’t know any of you were in the fog besides lyra…” jaina said softly, feeling completely disoriented. she hadn’t sensed any of them. all she felt within the fog was darkness. anger. jaina leaned against the wall as she stood beside garrick, leaning her head against the padding, “when i was in there…i could only hear him. i…could only feel him.” she looked over at her cousin, then up at garrick, “he…he said i can’t just forget him. he said that we all forgot him.” jaina continued, looking over to lyra, “he…he said he and i we were two halves of one whole.” she bit into her bottom lip after she spoke.

“it’s okay to say his name, j.” anakin said softly, looking at his cousin with concern. anakin had grown up besides his cousins. after the tragedy at the temple, anakin and jaina’s bond grew even deeper. they were practically siblings. he watched his cousin tense further, keeping her eyes off her friends. “you’re going to have to say it eventually.”

“no, anakin. i don’t.” she muttered, crossing away from her friends to face out one of the windows, looking out at the rebel base. “you don’t understand…i felt him die that day at the temple.” jaina moved a hand to the scar across her chest as she spoke, “he was my twin. none of you can understand how that felt.” jaina muttered, turning to face her friends, “if i was wrong about that…what else could i be wrong about? what else have i have been wrong about?” the pull to the dark side was stronger than ever before. jaina felt her anger coursing through her veins. even surrounded by her friends now, she just wanted revenge.

lyra shook her head a little, sadly looking over at jaina. “I didn’t know it was you,” she said softly. she knew jaina would never intentionally harm her, or any of their friends. she’d always thought ben wouldn’t either. she took the coffee from anakin gratefully, clutching the steaming mug between her palms. she let the cup warm her hands as she sat tucked into the couch. she glanced between everyone as they spoke, attentively listening.

“i’ve seen this done by sith lords in small settings, one person getting into another’s head,” garrick said softly, taking the mug from jaina. “thank you,” he nodded once. “but never on this kind of scale, if this was truly all ben, in all of our heads at once, I think we have a lot of work to do before we can even think about bringing him back,” he said softly, a sadness staining his voice. he was knee deep in territory he, or any of them for that matter, knew very little about. and now he found himself in charge of this mission. kriff.

the tone in garrick’s voice drew a shiver through lyra, she didn’t like his lack of confidence any more than anyone else in the room, but coming from garrick it was more chilling. it was like hearing it from any of the other masters, who were likely all thinking the same thing. he shouldn’t be that powerful. she looked over at jaina as the girl’s energy turned, straightening where she sat. “we all felt him die that day,” she breathed, setting the mug down on the tabletop. she tried to swallow the lump in her throat, desperate to repress her thoughts of ben and how he was, but they bubbled through, brutally blended with the feeling of him in her mind, tearing his way in. she felt her cheeks warm uncomfortably as the memory washed through her. she knew she needed to say something, but she couldn’t get the words out. ahsoka nudged her in the leg with her toe, her white brows knitting together.

“are you okay?” she asked worriedly. lyra snapped out of it, nodding as she glanced at ahsoka. she let out a breath that she didn’t realize she’d been holding, rubbing her forehead with her palm.

garrick looked over at jaina, his eyes searching her face. he reached over and rested his hand on her arm, pulling some of her pain away. “we’re going to find him, j,” he breathed, nodding his head a bit. they needed to find him, if it was they last thing they did.


End file.
